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STATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN FLORIDASTATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN FLORIDASTATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN FLORIDASTATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN FLORIDASTATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN FLORIDASTATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN FLORIDASTATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN FLORIDASTATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN FLORIDASTATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN FLORIDASTATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN FLORIDA Billy D Causey Richard E Dodge Walter Jaap KenBilly D Causey Richard E Dodge Walter Jaap KenBilly D Causey Richard E Dodge Walter Jaap KenBilly D Causey Richard E Dodge Walter Jaap KenBilly D Causey Richard E Dodge Walter Jaap KenBilly D Causey Richard E Dodge Walter Jaap KenBilly D Causey Richard E Dodge Walter Jaap KenBilly D Causey Richard E Dodge Walter Jaap KenBilly D Causey Richard E Dodge Walter Jaap KenBilly D Causey Richard E Dodge Walter Jaap Ken Banks Joanne Delaney Brian D Keller and Richard SpielerBanks Joanne Delaney Brian D Keller and Richard SpielerBanks Joanne Delaney Brian D Keller and Richard SpielerBanks Joanne Delaney Brian D Keller and Richard SpielerBanks Joanne Delaney Brian D Keller and Richard SpielerBanks Joanne Delaney Brian D Keller and Richard SpielerBanks Joanne Delaney Brian D Keller and Richard SpielerBanks Joanne Delaney Brian D Keller and Richard SpielerBanks Joanne Delaney Brian D Keller and Richard SpielerBanks Joanne Delaney Brian D Keller and Richard Spieler

IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction

There are three main areas of coral reefs and banks in Florida ndash the Florida Keys the southeastern coast from northern Monroe County to Palm Beach County and the Florida Middle Grounds in the eastern Gulf of Mexico south of Apalachicola and northwest of Tarpon Springs Numerous coral habshyitats are also scattered from the Florida Middle Grounds to the Florida Keys along Floridarsquos west coast shelf at varying locations New communities are constantly being discovered such as those recently documented along Pulleyrsquos Ridge in 45-60 m (150-200 ft) of water

The Florida KeysThe Florida KeysThe Florida KeysThe Florida KeysThe Florida Keys ndash The Florida Keys have the only emergent coral reefs off the continental United States Arching southwest 356 km from south of Miami to the Dry Tortugas the Florida reef tract comprises one of the largest reef comshymunities in the world Except between Rebecca Shoal and the Dry Tortugas it is almost continshyuous

The majority of the reef tract lies within the boundshyaries of the 9800 km2 Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS or Sanctuary) Over half of the Sanctuary is located in State of Florida territorial waters (less than 48 km from shore in the Atlantic waters and less than 165 km from shore in the Gulf of Mexico) the rest of the Sanctuary (42) is in Federal waters Designated in 1990 the Sanctushyary is managed jointly between NOAA and the

State A comprehensive management plan adopted in 1997 guides Sanctuary management One manshyagement component has been establishing and implementing five types of marine zones which include 24 individual fully protected zones deshysigned to offer added protection to some of the over 1400 km2 of coral reef habitat located within the Sanctuary

Two additional marine protected areas managed by the National Park Service encompass reefs in the Florida Keys Located on the northern boundary of the Sanctuary just south of Miami Biscayne National Park has 683 km2 of coastal waters At the western-most end of the reef tract lies Dry Tortugas National Park covering 262 km2

The Florida Reef Tract has been described as a bank reef system comprised of an almost continushyous reef community with elongated reef habitats paralleling one another The reef ecosystems consist of distinct habitat types nearshore patch reefs mid-channel reefs offshore patch reefs seagrass beds back reefsreef flats bank or transishytional reefs intermediate reefs deep reefs outlier reefs and sandsoft bottom areas In addition to the bank reefs over 6000 circular to oval patch reefs lie along the Florida Reef Tract in 2 to 9 m of water An outer reef tract lies 48 to 113 km east and south of the Keys

The seaward-facing spur and groove formations of the Florida Reef Tract are constructional features formed partly by wave energy (Shinn 1963 Shinn et al 1981 DoC 1996) They extend 1 to 2 km off the main reef from 1 to 10 m Historically the tops of the spurs were composed mainly of elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata Fig 143) especially at depths less than 5 m while grooves contained carbonate sands and reef rubble (Hendler et al 1995) These features are typically no more than 200 m long from offshore to onshore

Primary corals found in this area include the star corals (Montastrea annularis complex and the great star coral (Montastrea cavernosa) masssive starlet coral (Siderastrea siderea) and fire corals

Figure 143 A Staghorn coral (Photo NCRI) B elkhorn coral (Photo Paige Gill FKNMS)

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(Millepora spp) Mustard hill coral (Porites astreshyoides) finger coral (Porites porites) and lettuce coral (Agaricia agaricites) are also common species Staghorn and elkhorn corals formerly common or dominant species at 3-15 m are much less abundant at this time

The Southeastern CoastThe Southeastern CoastThe Southeastern CoastThe Southeastern CoastThe Southeastern Coast ndash This reef system runs from northern Monroe County to Palm Beach County in a series of discontinuous reef lines paralleling the shore Duane and Meisburger (1969) and Goldberg (1973) defined the habitat at limited locations and provided information on the coral fauna

There are generally three lines of reef ndash one that nomshyinally crests in 3 to 4 m of water (First Reef) another in 6 to 8 m (Second Reef) and a third in 15 to 21 m (Third Reef)

The First Reef has a very low profile with conspicuous small octocoral and algal cover The substrate is relict reef of Anastasia Formation limestone and worm reef (Phragmatopoma) with breaks and sediment pockets within the reef Typical sesshysile organisms are lesser starshylet coral (Siderastrea radians) and colonial zoanthids (Palyshythoa mammalosa and P caribaeorum)

The Second Reef is also flat with somewhat more relief and dissecting channels Octocorals are most conspicuous some areas exceeding 60 per m2 (Fig 144) Abundant stony corals include knobby brain coral (Diploria clivosa) elliptical star coral (Dichocoenia stokesii) great star coral and smooth star coral (Solenastrea bournoni) In the past few years there has been vigorous recruitment of staghorn coral and some extensive aggregations are now present off Broward County Here reef-like accumulations or ldquothicketsrdquo of this species form a significant

Figure 144 Octocorals with their polyps extended at night (Photo FKNMS and Joe Seger)

habitat Spawning was documented in early August 2001 (Vargas-Aacutengel and Thomas in press)

The Third Reef often has strong vertical relief and exhibits the highest diversity and abundance of sessile reef organisms Octocorals and large barrel sponges (Xestospongia muta) are most conspicuous and visually dominate this reef Stony corals are somewhat larger than those located on the Second Reef Moderate-sized colonies of star corals are common

The Middle GroundsThe Middle GroundsThe Middle GroundsThe Middle GroundsThe Middle Grounds ndash This is a 1193 km2 area in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission 2001) 137 km south of Apalachicola and 129 km northwest of Tarpon Springs Its banks are two parallel ridgelines separated by a valley lying in a north-northwesterly direction Individual banks are 12 to 15 m high with shallow crests 21 m below sea level The reef structures are late Pleistocene to early Holocene (Brooks and Doyle 1991)

Winter temperatures reach 16˚ C limiting many tropical species from occupying these banks However there are 23 species of stony corals (Grimm and Hopkins 1977) Environmental studies in the 1970s documented 103

species of algae about 40 sponges 75 mollusks 56 decapod crustaceans 41 polychaetes 23 echinoshyderms and 170 species of fish (Hopkins et al 1977) Elliptical star coral yellow pencil coral (Madracis decactis) and branching fire coral (Millepora alcicornis) are the most abundant stony coral species Coral cover may be as high as 30 on some pinnacles

Overall the biotic characteristics of this area are very different from either the Florida Keys or the Flower Garden Banks located off Texas

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1034 993

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0 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Figure 145 Mean percent stony coral cover at 160 stations in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary 1996-2000 (Modified from Jaap et al 2001)

Condition of Coral Reef EcosystemsCondition of Coral Reef EcosystemsCondition of Coral Reef EcosystemsCondition of Coral Reef EcosystemsCondition of Coral Reef Ecosystems

Historical fluctuations in sea level have influenced the reefs of Florida with the last significant rise in sea level starting about 6000 years ago Since that time the reefs off Southeast Florida and the Florshyida Keys have been building Greater reef developshyment in those areas generally occurs in the Upper and Lower Keys where the Keys protect reefs from direct water flows from the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Bay (DoC 1996 Robbin 1981 Shinn et al 1989)

Although the reefs of Florida have existed for the past several thousands years they have only recently become the focus of scientific research and monitoring in an attempt to fully understand changes over time Since the creation of the FKNMS the reefs and associated marine habitats of the Florida Keys have become the subject of a broad research and monitoring program that seeks to establish baseline data on ecosystem condition and ascertain cause-and-effect linkages The reefs and banks of Floridarsquos southeastern coast and the Middle Grounds are not as well studied as those of the Florida Keys though they are beginning to be mapped and estimates of cover are available from some monitoring programs As a result the condishytion of Floridarsquos coral ecosystems can be best determined for Florida Keys reefs at this time comprehensive long-term monitoring of various ecosystem components is critical for the southeastshyern coast and Middle Grounds

In the Florida Keys Sanctuary-wide monitoring of water quality seagrasses and coral and hardbottom communities began in 1994 under a Water Quality Protection Program that was jointly undertaken by

NOAA and the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) In 1997 when a network of fully protected zones or marine reserves were implemented a Zone Monitoring Program was initiated to determine whether the zones meet their objectives of reducing pressure on heavily used reefs preserving biodiversity facilitating research and reducing use conflicts among others Each of these monitoring programs and their methods are described in the Current Conservation Management section of this report To date over five years of data from the Water Quality Protection Program and three years of data from the Zone Monitoring Program have provided Sanctuary managers with emerging trends in coral reef ecosystem health throughout the Florida Keys

CoralCoralCoralCoralCoral ndash Early surveys of Florida Keys coral reefs have documented two species of fire coral 55 species of octocoral and 64 taxa of stony corals (DoC 1996 Levy et al 1996)

Under the Zone Monitoring Program scientists from the University of North Carolina at Wilmingtonrsquos National Undersea Research Center (UNCWNURC) have more recently conducted rapid large-scale assessments of coral reefs and hardbottom communities in the Sanctuary In their 1999 assessment the UNCWNURC rapid assessment and rmonitoring program found coral cover highly variable by both habitat type and region (Miller et al 2001) Jaap et al (2001) confirmed that gains and losses of coral cover in the Florida Keys fluctuate among habitat types with patch reef habitats suffering the fewest losses and exhibiting the highest average percent cover over time

Since 1996 over 66 of 160 stations in the Coral ReefHardbottom Monitoring Project of the Water Quality Protection Program exhibited losses in stony coral diversity From 1996 to 2000 stony coral cover Sanctuary-wide decreased by 366 to a low of 66 in 2000 with the greatest relative change occurring in the Upper Keys (Jaap et al 2001 Fig 145) During this time 67 of monitoring stations had reduced stony coral species richness 20 gained species and 13 had unchanged species richness (Jaap et al 2001) However positive trends were noted in the 1999shy2000 survey period when 69 stations had greater numbers of stony coral species 56 stations had

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Figure 146 Changes in elkhorn coral cover at West Sambo 1996 above and 2001 below (Photo EPAFKNMS Coral Reef Monitoring Project funded by EPA UNCW and NOAA)

fewer species and 35 stations remained unchanged (Jaap et al 2001)

In addition to coral cover recruitment of stony corals to the Florida Keys ecosystem is a basic measure of overall community health Relationshyships between coral cover recruitment and juveshynile mortality are assessed at six sites in both fully protected Sanctuary zones and in reference areas (Aronson et al 2001) Differences in coral recruitshyment have been seen among all sites over two years More important perhaps is that juvenile mortality was greatest at shallow stations in the first year (1998) which coincided with a direct strike from Hurricane Georges in the Lower Keys UNCWNURC rapid assessment monitoring of benthic communities indicated no significant differences in juvenile coral density by habitat type and region in 2000 (Miller et al 2001)

Increasingly coral diseases threaten the overall health and vitality of reef systems in the Florida Keys However only three of ten presumptive or purported pathogens have been positively identishyfied (Richardson 1998) The Coral ReefHardshybottom Monitoring Project documented increases in the number of stations with diseased coral the number of coral species with disease and the number of presumptive diseases (Jaap et al 2001) In 1998 a second ongoing coral disease etiology and monitoring program documented regional differences in the incidence of disease with the highest concentration of coral diseases near Key West and in the Lower Keys Significant seasonal increases in diseases were also noted in these

regions (Mueller et al 2001) Back reef areas showed the highest prevalence of disease These areas are dominated by elkhorn coral which is susceptible to specific disease conditions (Mueller et al 2001 Fig 146) Aspergillosis a fungal disease that targets the sea fan (Gorgonia venshytalina) was the most commonly reported disease Sanctuary-wide during these surveys (Mueller et al 2001)

In addition to confirmed and purported coral disshyeases coral bleaching impacts the Sanctuaryrsquos reefs (Fig 147) Over the past 20 years bleaching events have increased in both frequency and duration (Hoegh-Guldberg 1999 Jaap 1990) Massive coral bleaching was first recorded in 1983 along the outer reef tract of the Lower Keys Shallow fore reef habitats were most affected (Causey in press) This event was preceded by periods of low wind and high air temperature contributing to localized increased water temperature

Massive bleaching occurred again in July 1987 following doldrum-like weather conditions This time the outer reefs throughout the Florida Keys were afflicted and secondary impacts such as coral disease were observed Then in July 1990 a masshysive bleaching event occurred Keys-wide Inshore reefs bleached for the first time and mortality of blade fire corals (Millepora complanata) reached over 65 on the shallow crest of Looe Key Reef in the Lower Keys (Causey in press)

Bleaching has both expanded and intensified in the last decade Another massive episode in 1997 targeted both the inshore and offshore reefs Before the reefs could adequately recover lingering high water temperatures and a particularly strong El Nintildeo event caused yet another bleaching in 1998

Figure 147 Bleached brain coral (Photo Mike White)

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This time the blade fire coral suffered 80-90 mortality (W Jaap pers comm) and has remained low in abundance throughout most of the area There have been similar bleaching observations regionally and internationally since 1987 and it is widely recognized that 1997 and 1998 were the worst years on record

While it is difficult to enumerate the exact causes of coral mortality from any given perturbation coral bleaching is undoubtedly responsible for part of the dramatic declines in stony coral cover observed Sanctuary-wide in the last five years (Causey pers obs) Observations from the research community reinforce the results from several monitoring programs that show declines in coral health This highlights the importance of continued monitoring Empirical cause-and-effect studies might provide additional methods to alleviate these impacts and improve overall reef health

Along the southeastern shoreline there is little long-term data on abundance andor cover for benthic reef components The predominant inforshymation on status and trends is anecdotal However some reefs appear healthy when compared to hisshytorical information and personal recollections Bleaching has been observed over the years along the southeastern reefs at a comparable level to the Florida Keys

There is no information available at this time on the status of corals and benthic communities at the Florida Middle Grounds

Marine Algae Other Plants and BenthicMarine Algae Other Plants and BenthicMarine Algae Other Plants and BenthicMarine Algae Other Plants and BenthicMarine Algae Other Plants and Benthic CoverCoverCoverCoverCover ndash Ninety species of marine macroalgae have been identified from coral reefs within the FKNMS (Littler et al 1986) Additionally there are seven species of seagrasses (Fourqurean et al 2002) in the region Six species are common throughout South Florida (Fig 148) whereas one endemic species of seagrass is only found in the northern part of Biscayne Bay Three species of mangrove also grow in Florida (Mote Marine Laboratory 2002)

Benthic monitoring under the Sanctuaryrsquos Zone Monitoring Program indicates algae and attached invertebrate populations (sponges and soft corals) fluctuate widely between seasons and years (Aronson et al 2001) As with coral communities

Figure 148 Seagrass meadow at Indian River Lagoon on Floridarsquos eastern coast (Photo South Florida Water Management District)

some of this variability can be attributed to storms around the Florida Keys in 1998 and 1999

Functional group cover analyses from Jaap et al (2001) show a slight increase in macroalgal cover in all regions of the Florida Keys between 1996 and 2000 and indicate a general decrease in sponge and soft coral cover Miller et al (1999) found algae dominated all sites with average cover genshyerally above 75 in the Keys and above 50 in the Dry Tortugas region (2000) At deeper sites preshydominant algal functional groups were fine and thick turf algae brown frondose algae green calcareous algae (mainly Halimeda spp) and crustose coralline algae Crustose coralline algae and green calcareous algae comprised a greater proportion of total algal cover at shallower sites than at deeper sites In the Dry Tortugas algal cover was mostly green calcareous algae and two genera of brown frondose algae

In addition sponge and soft coral coverages were minor (generally less than 10) at shallow and deeper sites in the Keys (Miller et al 1999) and generally low in the Dry Tortugas region (less than 20) (Miller et al 2000) Overall variability is high across all regions for sponge cover (Miller et al 2001) Likewise analyses of benthic composishytion between fully protected zones and reference areas in the Sanctuary indicate that changes obshy

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Fig 149 A Caribbean spiny lobster (Photo Roberto Sozzani) B queen conch (Photo Caribbean Fishery Manageshyment Council)

served cannot be attributed to recent protection from fishing but are likely a result of the initial biased selection of one of the zone types (Miller et al 2001)

At least one species of seagrass was present at over 80 of the FKNMS stations monitored under the Water Quality Protection Program indicating a coverage of approximately 12800 km2 of seagrass beds within the 17000 km2 study area that lies within and adjacent to the Sanctuary (Fourqurean et al 1999) The primary species of seagrasses within the Sanctuary are turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum) manatee grass (Syringodium filishyforme) shoal grass (Halodule wrightii) and balloon grass (Halophila decipiens)

As with coral communities there is currently no comprehensive data available on algae or sea-grasses from Floridarsquos southeastern coast or Middle Grounds regions

Mobile invertebratesMobile invertebratesMobile invertebratesMobile invertebratesMobile invertebrates ndash Diverse groups of inverteshybrates have been identified in the Florida Keys inshycluding 117 species of sponges (Levy et al 1996) 89 species of polychaete worms (Levy et al 1996) more than 1400 species of mollusks (Mikkelsen and Bieler 2000) 371 species of crustaceans (Levy et al 1996) and 82 species of echinoderms (Hendler et al 1995)

The focus of recent monitoring efforts has been on large mobile invertebrates such as the Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) and queen conch (Fig 149) Both have been moni-tored inside and outside of the Sanctuaryrsquos fully protected zones under the zone monitoring pro-gram The size of spiny lobsters are also being tracked in the Dry Tortugas where National Park designation eliminated this fishery several years ago Since the

closure individual lobsters have grown larger there than in the remainder of the Florida Keys

Legal-sized spiny lobsters continue to be larger and more abundant in fully protected zones than in reference sites of comparable habitat In the sanctshyuary preservation areas (SPAs) they average above legal minimum size At reference sites they remain below legal size (Cox et al 2001) This is particushylarly true in the Western Sambo Ecological Reshyserve where the average size has been significantly larger than in reference areas during both the open and closed fishing seasons (C Cox pers comm Gregory 2001) Catch rates (number of lobsters per trap) are also higher within the Western Sambo Ecological Reserve than within two adjacent fished areas (Gregory 2001)

Queen conch populations have remained low in the last decade despite a ban on commercial and recshyreational fishing since the mid-1980s An intensive monitoring program directed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissionrsquos Florida Marine Research Institute (FWCFMRI) continues to find no significant differences in conch aggregashytion sizes density or abundance between fully protected zones and reference sites in the Sanctuary (Glazer 2001) Attempts to supplement wild popushylations with laboratory-reared stock and experishyments to improve reproductive output are undershyway to address the long-term demise of this species

Additional monitoring and some experimental research are focused on sea urchin populations within the Florida Keys Various scientists specushylate urchins play a critical role in structuring reef

Figure 150 Selected fish species that are numerically dominant or account for much of the biomass on Florida Keys reefs (Photos FKNMS)

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GROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERS SNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERS GRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTS

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100 just a few species (Bohnsack et 90 al 1999) 80

The numerically dominant fishes70

observed were bluehead wrasse60

50 (Thalassoma bifasciatum) bishy40 color damselfish (Stegastes 30 partitus) tomtate (Haemulon 20 aurolineatum) sergeant major 10 (Abudefduf saxatilis) striped 0 parrotfish (Scarus croicensis)

yellowtail snapper (Ocyurus chysurus) bluestriped grunt (Haemulon sciurus) white grunt

Figure 151 Estimated percent Spawning Potential Ratios (SPR) for 35 species (Haemulon plumieri) maskedof reef fish comprised of groupers snappers grunts hogfish and great

goby (Coryphopterus person-barracuda Black bars indicate stock ldquooverfishingrdquo and blue bars indicate the stock is above the 30 SPR US Federal standard (Modified from Ault et al atus) and French grunt (Haeshy1998)

communities by acting as key herbivores keeping algae in check so adult corals can continue to grow and new corals may recruit to appropriate substrate Reductions in the sea urchin population due to a massive Caribbean-wide die-off in 1983 and relashytively poor recovery of populations since then have been confirmed by two separate teams in the zone monitoring program (Fogarty and Enstrom 2001 Miller et al 2001) Both document very low abunshydances of sea urchins especially the long-spined sea urchin Two research efforts underway in the Sanctuary are exploring viable means of restoring populations of this keystone species to coral reef habitats

FishFishFishFishFish ndash Considerable scientific attention has been

107107107107107107107107107107

paid to fish species of the Florida Keys over the last several decades prior to the designation of the Sanctuary and its fully protected zones Starck (1968) identified 517 fish species from the Florida Keys including over 389 reef fish Addishytional surveys have been conducted since 1979 documenting species composition abundance frequency and size estimates (Bohnsack et al 1999) Between 1979-1998 a total of 263 reef fish taxa representing 54 families were observed (Bohnsack et al 1999) Numerically over half (59) of all fish were from just 10 species (Fig 150) The majority of total fish biomass was comprised of

mulon flavolineatum) Other species accounting for most of

the observed biomass were tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) gray snapper Bermuda chub (Kyphosus sectatrix) stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) smallmouth grunt (Haemulon chrysargyreum) and yellow goatfish (Mulloidichthys martinicus) (Bohnsack et al 1999)

Trends in spatial distribution and differences in populations over time are also noted In most cases relatively few fish of legal harvestable size were seen This is consistent with other studies indicating reef fish are highly exploited Based on federal standards (Ault et al 1998) 13 of 16 species of groupers seven of 13 snappers one

wrasse and two of five grunts are overfished in the Florida Keys (Fig

Figure 152 Gray snapper have benefitted from the fully 151) Non-sustainable fisheries protected zones (Photo FKNMS) practices are likely changing trophic

interactions on reefs with secondary effects such as reduced reproductive capacity (PDT 1990) and shifts in ecosystem structure and function

Despite declines elsewhere in the Sanctuary fish numbers of some economically important species are increasing somewhat in the fully protected zones Analyses of three years of reef fish data show average densities (number of individuals per sample) for the exploited fish species ndash gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus Fig 152) yellowtail

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Figure 153 A Map of water quality stations in FKNMS that are clustered according to statistical similarities in water quality parameters B Total phosphus (TP) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 Note significant increases in the Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys Lower Keys and portions of the Middle and Upper Keys C Nitrate (NO

3) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 Increases

occurred in the Southwest Florida Shelf Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys and Lower and Upper Keys D Total organic nitrogen (TON) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 A moderate decrease in TON occurred in some areas in contrast to increases in TP and NO

3 (Source Jones and Boyer 2001)

snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus) and grouper (several economically important species were combined) ndash are higher in the SPAs than in fished reference sites (Bohnsack et al 2001) Complementing this data is a trend in increasing average abundance of three species of snapper (gray snapper schoolmaster and yellowtail snapper) at sites monitored by Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) volunteers before and after designation of the fully protected zones (Pattengill-Semmens 2001)

Water QualityWater QualityWater QualityWater QualityWater Quality ndash Reduced salinity agricultural and industrial chemical contamination turbidity and high nutrients possibly from sewage upshywelling or groundwater have all impacted water quality to some degree in Southeast Florida Florida Bay and the Florida Keys Ocean outfalls along the coast introduce millions of gallons of secondary sewage to coastal waters adding nutrishyents Eutrophication of nearshore waters (a result of excess nutrients) is a documented problem in the Keys Given these anthropogenic impacts and the importance of also fully understanding natural variability long-term water quality monitoring is

critical for the entire South Florida region Water quality has been monitored at fixed stations in the FKNMS since 1995 as part of the Water Quality Protection Program (FKNMS WQPP 2002) Results to date indicate dissolved oxygen total organic nitrogen and total organic carbon are higher in surface waters while salinity turbidity nitrite nitrate ammonium and total phosphorus are higher in bottom waters Geographical differshyences include higher nutrient concentrations in the Middle and Lower Keys than in the Upper Keys and Dry Tortugas regions Generally declining inshore to offshore trends along transects across Hawk Channel have been noted for nitrate ammoshynium silicate total organic carbon and nitrogen and turbidity (Jones and Boyer 2001)

Stations along passes between the Keys had higher nutrient concentrations phytoplankton biomass and turbidity than stations located off the Keys Although these differences were small the two shore types support different benthic communities which may reflect long-term effects of water quality on community composition Using a

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multivariate statistical approach these stations were regrouped according to water quality This resulted in seven clusters of stations with different water quality characteristics (Fig 153) giving a functional zonation of Sanctuary water quality

Probably the most interesting results are temporal trends in concentrations of total phosphorus nitrate and total organic nitrogen for much of the Sanctuary There have been significant increases in total phosphorus for the Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys Lower Keys and portions of the Middle and Upper Keys No trend in total phosphorus has been observed in Florida Bay or in areas of the Sanctushyary most influenced by transport of Bay waters and there was no concurrent increase in the concenshytration of chlorophyll a a measure of phytoshyplankton in the water column There were large increases in nitrates which appeared to be seashysonal Most of the increases occurred in the Southshywest Florida Shelf Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys and the Lower and Upper Keys By contrast total organic nitrogen decreased modestly at many sites Most of the decreases occurred in the Southwest Florida Shelf the Sluiceway and the Lower and Upper Keys It is possible that these trends are driven by regional circulation patterns arising from the Loop and Florida Currents

Coastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef Economics

Much of South Florida is urban and its resident population continues to expand A total of 509 million people resided in the four-county area of South Florida (Miami-Dade Broward Palm Beach and Monroe Counties) in 2000 an increase of 231 in the past 10 years (US Bureau of the Census 2002) Of this total 225 million live in Miami-Dade 80000 live in Monroe (Florida

Figure 154 Visitors and residents at a South Florida beach (Photo NOS Photo Gallery)

Keys) 113 million in Palm Beach and 162 milshylion in Broward counties

Due to its climate and natural resources South Florida draws millions of seasonal and temporary visitors (Fig 154) Miami-Dade County receives a daily summer average of 240000 seasonal and temporary visitors and a daily winter average of 308000 visitors Each day Broward County receives between 140000-320000 visitors deshypending on the season Palm Beach County reshyceives 73000-183000 visitors and Monroe County receives 30000-36000 visitors (Johns et al 2001) Including these visitors gives Miami-Dade Broward Palm Beach and Monroe Counshyties a functional population145 of 249-256 million 176-194 million 12-13 million and 110000shy116000 respectively

Johns et al (2001) estimated market economic contributions and non-market economic user values for recreational use of artificial and natural reefs In the four-county South Florida region residents and visitors spent 182 million person-days fishing diving and viewing natural coral reefs from glass-bottom boats yielding an annual non-market economic use value estimate of nearly $228

million This annual value146 yields an Table 15 Recreation and tourism on natural reefs in Southeast Florida estimate of the asset value of the naturalTotals for these economic values are likely to be underestimated because the data do not include inter-regional flows (Source Johns et al 2001) reefs at $76 billion Additional informashy

tion on the economic impact of tourism has been summarized in Table 15

In addition to supporting tourism in the region coral reefs play an important role in maintaining Floridarsquos commercial and recreational fisheries In 2000 Monroe

145 Functional populations include the number of people in a given area on a given day which demand local services (eg freshwater sewage and solid waste disposal electricity transporation services) This number of people includes not only the permanent residents of an area but also seasonal and temporary visitors

146 In calculating this value it was capitalized at a real interest rate (ie lsquointerest rate net of inflationrsquo of 3 into perpetuity) 109109109109109109109109109109

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(Millepora spp) Mustard hill coral (Porites astreshyoides) finger coral (Porites porites) and lettuce coral (Agaricia agaricites) are also common species Staghorn and elkhorn corals formerly common or dominant species at 3-15 m are much less abundant at this time

The Southeastern CoastThe Southeastern CoastThe Southeastern CoastThe Southeastern CoastThe Southeastern Coast ndash This reef system runs from northern Monroe County to Palm Beach County in a series of discontinuous reef lines paralleling the shore Duane and Meisburger (1969) and Goldberg (1973) defined the habitat at limited locations and provided information on the coral fauna

There are generally three lines of reef ndash one that nomshyinally crests in 3 to 4 m of water (First Reef) another in 6 to 8 m (Second Reef) and a third in 15 to 21 m (Third Reef)

The First Reef has a very low profile with conspicuous small octocoral and algal cover The substrate is relict reef of Anastasia Formation limestone and worm reef (Phragmatopoma) with breaks and sediment pockets within the reef Typical sesshysile organisms are lesser starshylet coral (Siderastrea radians) and colonial zoanthids (Palyshythoa mammalosa and P caribaeorum)

The Second Reef is also flat with somewhat more relief and dissecting channels Octocorals are most conspicuous some areas exceeding 60 per m2 (Fig 144) Abundant stony corals include knobby brain coral (Diploria clivosa) elliptical star coral (Dichocoenia stokesii) great star coral and smooth star coral (Solenastrea bournoni) In the past few years there has been vigorous recruitment of staghorn coral and some extensive aggregations are now present off Broward County Here reef-like accumulations or ldquothicketsrdquo of this species form a significant

Figure 144 Octocorals with their polyps extended at night (Photo FKNMS and Joe Seger)

habitat Spawning was documented in early August 2001 (Vargas-Aacutengel and Thomas in press)

The Third Reef often has strong vertical relief and exhibits the highest diversity and abundance of sessile reef organisms Octocorals and large barrel sponges (Xestospongia muta) are most conspicuous and visually dominate this reef Stony corals are somewhat larger than those located on the Second Reef Moderate-sized colonies of star corals are common

The Middle GroundsThe Middle GroundsThe Middle GroundsThe Middle GroundsThe Middle Grounds ndash This is a 1193 km2 area in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission 2001) 137 km south of Apalachicola and 129 km northwest of Tarpon Springs Its banks are two parallel ridgelines separated by a valley lying in a north-northwesterly direction Individual banks are 12 to 15 m high with shallow crests 21 m below sea level The reef structures are late Pleistocene to early Holocene (Brooks and Doyle 1991)

Winter temperatures reach 16˚ C limiting many tropical species from occupying these banks However there are 23 species of stony corals (Grimm and Hopkins 1977) Environmental studies in the 1970s documented 103

species of algae about 40 sponges 75 mollusks 56 decapod crustaceans 41 polychaetes 23 echinoshyderms and 170 species of fish (Hopkins et al 1977) Elliptical star coral yellow pencil coral (Madracis decactis) and branching fire coral (Millepora alcicornis) are the most abundant stony coral species Coral cover may be as high as 30 on some pinnacles

Overall the biotic characteristics of this area are very different from either the Florida Keys or the Flower Garden Banks located off Texas

102102102102102102102102102102

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ent

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12

1034 993

10

833 8

655

6

642

4

2

0 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Figure 145 Mean percent stony coral cover at 160 stations in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary 1996-2000 (Modified from Jaap et al 2001)

Condition of Coral Reef EcosystemsCondition of Coral Reef EcosystemsCondition of Coral Reef EcosystemsCondition of Coral Reef EcosystemsCondition of Coral Reef Ecosystems

Historical fluctuations in sea level have influenced the reefs of Florida with the last significant rise in sea level starting about 6000 years ago Since that time the reefs off Southeast Florida and the Florshyida Keys have been building Greater reef developshyment in those areas generally occurs in the Upper and Lower Keys where the Keys protect reefs from direct water flows from the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Bay (DoC 1996 Robbin 1981 Shinn et al 1989)

Although the reefs of Florida have existed for the past several thousands years they have only recently become the focus of scientific research and monitoring in an attempt to fully understand changes over time Since the creation of the FKNMS the reefs and associated marine habitats of the Florida Keys have become the subject of a broad research and monitoring program that seeks to establish baseline data on ecosystem condition and ascertain cause-and-effect linkages The reefs and banks of Floridarsquos southeastern coast and the Middle Grounds are not as well studied as those of the Florida Keys though they are beginning to be mapped and estimates of cover are available from some monitoring programs As a result the condishytion of Floridarsquos coral ecosystems can be best determined for Florida Keys reefs at this time comprehensive long-term monitoring of various ecosystem components is critical for the southeastshyern coast and Middle Grounds

In the Florida Keys Sanctuary-wide monitoring of water quality seagrasses and coral and hardbottom communities began in 1994 under a Water Quality Protection Program that was jointly undertaken by

NOAA and the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) In 1997 when a network of fully protected zones or marine reserves were implemented a Zone Monitoring Program was initiated to determine whether the zones meet their objectives of reducing pressure on heavily used reefs preserving biodiversity facilitating research and reducing use conflicts among others Each of these monitoring programs and their methods are described in the Current Conservation Management section of this report To date over five years of data from the Water Quality Protection Program and three years of data from the Zone Monitoring Program have provided Sanctuary managers with emerging trends in coral reef ecosystem health throughout the Florida Keys

CoralCoralCoralCoralCoral ndash Early surveys of Florida Keys coral reefs have documented two species of fire coral 55 species of octocoral and 64 taxa of stony corals (DoC 1996 Levy et al 1996)

Under the Zone Monitoring Program scientists from the University of North Carolina at Wilmingtonrsquos National Undersea Research Center (UNCWNURC) have more recently conducted rapid large-scale assessments of coral reefs and hardbottom communities in the Sanctuary In their 1999 assessment the UNCWNURC rapid assessment and rmonitoring program found coral cover highly variable by both habitat type and region (Miller et al 2001) Jaap et al (2001) confirmed that gains and losses of coral cover in the Florida Keys fluctuate among habitat types with patch reef habitats suffering the fewest losses and exhibiting the highest average percent cover over time

Since 1996 over 66 of 160 stations in the Coral ReefHardbottom Monitoring Project of the Water Quality Protection Program exhibited losses in stony coral diversity From 1996 to 2000 stony coral cover Sanctuary-wide decreased by 366 to a low of 66 in 2000 with the greatest relative change occurring in the Upper Keys (Jaap et al 2001 Fig 145) During this time 67 of monitoring stations had reduced stony coral species richness 20 gained species and 13 had unchanged species richness (Jaap et al 2001) However positive trends were noted in the 1999shy2000 survey period when 69 stations had greater numbers of stony coral species 56 stations had

103103103103103103103103103103

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Figure 146 Changes in elkhorn coral cover at West Sambo 1996 above and 2001 below (Photo EPAFKNMS Coral Reef Monitoring Project funded by EPA UNCW and NOAA)

fewer species and 35 stations remained unchanged (Jaap et al 2001)

In addition to coral cover recruitment of stony corals to the Florida Keys ecosystem is a basic measure of overall community health Relationshyships between coral cover recruitment and juveshynile mortality are assessed at six sites in both fully protected Sanctuary zones and in reference areas (Aronson et al 2001) Differences in coral recruitshyment have been seen among all sites over two years More important perhaps is that juvenile mortality was greatest at shallow stations in the first year (1998) which coincided with a direct strike from Hurricane Georges in the Lower Keys UNCWNURC rapid assessment monitoring of benthic communities indicated no significant differences in juvenile coral density by habitat type and region in 2000 (Miller et al 2001)

Increasingly coral diseases threaten the overall health and vitality of reef systems in the Florida Keys However only three of ten presumptive or purported pathogens have been positively identishyfied (Richardson 1998) The Coral ReefHardshybottom Monitoring Project documented increases in the number of stations with diseased coral the number of coral species with disease and the number of presumptive diseases (Jaap et al 2001) In 1998 a second ongoing coral disease etiology and monitoring program documented regional differences in the incidence of disease with the highest concentration of coral diseases near Key West and in the Lower Keys Significant seasonal increases in diseases were also noted in these

regions (Mueller et al 2001) Back reef areas showed the highest prevalence of disease These areas are dominated by elkhorn coral which is susceptible to specific disease conditions (Mueller et al 2001 Fig 146) Aspergillosis a fungal disease that targets the sea fan (Gorgonia venshytalina) was the most commonly reported disease Sanctuary-wide during these surveys (Mueller et al 2001)

In addition to confirmed and purported coral disshyeases coral bleaching impacts the Sanctuaryrsquos reefs (Fig 147) Over the past 20 years bleaching events have increased in both frequency and duration (Hoegh-Guldberg 1999 Jaap 1990) Massive coral bleaching was first recorded in 1983 along the outer reef tract of the Lower Keys Shallow fore reef habitats were most affected (Causey in press) This event was preceded by periods of low wind and high air temperature contributing to localized increased water temperature

Massive bleaching occurred again in July 1987 following doldrum-like weather conditions This time the outer reefs throughout the Florida Keys were afflicted and secondary impacts such as coral disease were observed Then in July 1990 a masshysive bleaching event occurred Keys-wide Inshore reefs bleached for the first time and mortality of blade fire corals (Millepora complanata) reached over 65 on the shallow crest of Looe Key Reef in the Lower Keys (Causey in press)

Bleaching has both expanded and intensified in the last decade Another massive episode in 1997 targeted both the inshore and offshore reefs Before the reefs could adequately recover lingering high water temperatures and a particularly strong El Nintildeo event caused yet another bleaching in 1998

Figure 147 Bleached brain coral (Photo Mike White)

104104104104104104104104104104

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This time the blade fire coral suffered 80-90 mortality (W Jaap pers comm) and has remained low in abundance throughout most of the area There have been similar bleaching observations regionally and internationally since 1987 and it is widely recognized that 1997 and 1998 were the worst years on record

While it is difficult to enumerate the exact causes of coral mortality from any given perturbation coral bleaching is undoubtedly responsible for part of the dramatic declines in stony coral cover observed Sanctuary-wide in the last five years (Causey pers obs) Observations from the research community reinforce the results from several monitoring programs that show declines in coral health This highlights the importance of continued monitoring Empirical cause-and-effect studies might provide additional methods to alleviate these impacts and improve overall reef health

Along the southeastern shoreline there is little long-term data on abundance andor cover for benthic reef components The predominant inforshymation on status and trends is anecdotal However some reefs appear healthy when compared to hisshytorical information and personal recollections Bleaching has been observed over the years along the southeastern reefs at a comparable level to the Florida Keys

There is no information available at this time on the status of corals and benthic communities at the Florida Middle Grounds

Marine Algae Other Plants and BenthicMarine Algae Other Plants and BenthicMarine Algae Other Plants and BenthicMarine Algae Other Plants and BenthicMarine Algae Other Plants and Benthic CoverCoverCoverCoverCover ndash Ninety species of marine macroalgae have been identified from coral reefs within the FKNMS (Littler et al 1986) Additionally there are seven species of seagrasses (Fourqurean et al 2002) in the region Six species are common throughout South Florida (Fig 148) whereas one endemic species of seagrass is only found in the northern part of Biscayne Bay Three species of mangrove also grow in Florida (Mote Marine Laboratory 2002)

Benthic monitoring under the Sanctuaryrsquos Zone Monitoring Program indicates algae and attached invertebrate populations (sponges and soft corals) fluctuate widely between seasons and years (Aronson et al 2001) As with coral communities

Figure 148 Seagrass meadow at Indian River Lagoon on Floridarsquos eastern coast (Photo South Florida Water Management District)

some of this variability can be attributed to storms around the Florida Keys in 1998 and 1999

Functional group cover analyses from Jaap et al (2001) show a slight increase in macroalgal cover in all regions of the Florida Keys between 1996 and 2000 and indicate a general decrease in sponge and soft coral cover Miller et al (1999) found algae dominated all sites with average cover genshyerally above 75 in the Keys and above 50 in the Dry Tortugas region (2000) At deeper sites preshydominant algal functional groups were fine and thick turf algae brown frondose algae green calcareous algae (mainly Halimeda spp) and crustose coralline algae Crustose coralline algae and green calcareous algae comprised a greater proportion of total algal cover at shallower sites than at deeper sites In the Dry Tortugas algal cover was mostly green calcareous algae and two genera of brown frondose algae

In addition sponge and soft coral coverages were minor (generally less than 10) at shallow and deeper sites in the Keys (Miller et al 1999) and generally low in the Dry Tortugas region (less than 20) (Miller et al 2000) Overall variability is high across all regions for sponge cover (Miller et al 2001) Likewise analyses of benthic composishytion between fully protected zones and reference areas in the Sanctuary indicate that changes obshy

105105105105105105105105105105

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Fig 149 A Caribbean spiny lobster (Photo Roberto Sozzani) B queen conch (Photo Caribbean Fishery Manageshyment Council)

served cannot be attributed to recent protection from fishing but are likely a result of the initial biased selection of one of the zone types (Miller et al 2001)

At least one species of seagrass was present at over 80 of the FKNMS stations monitored under the Water Quality Protection Program indicating a coverage of approximately 12800 km2 of seagrass beds within the 17000 km2 study area that lies within and adjacent to the Sanctuary (Fourqurean et al 1999) The primary species of seagrasses within the Sanctuary are turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum) manatee grass (Syringodium filishyforme) shoal grass (Halodule wrightii) and balloon grass (Halophila decipiens)

As with coral communities there is currently no comprehensive data available on algae or sea-grasses from Floridarsquos southeastern coast or Middle Grounds regions

Mobile invertebratesMobile invertebratesMobile invertebratesMobile invertebratesMobile invertebrates ndash Diverse groups of inverteshybrates have been identified in the Florida Keys inshycluding 117 species of sponges (Levy et al 1996) 89 species of polychaete worms (Levy et al 1996) more than 1400 species of mollusks (Mikkelsen and Bieler 2000) 371 species of crustaceans (Levy et al 1996) and 82 species of echinoderms (Hendler et al 1995)

The focus of recent monitoring efforts has been on large mobile invertebrates such as the Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) and queen conch (Fig 149) Both have been moni-tored inside and outside of the Sanctuaryrsquos fully protected zones under the zone monitoring pro-gram The size of spiny lobsters are also being tracked in the Dry Tortugas where National Park designation eliminated this fishery several years ago Since the

closure individual lobsters have grown larger there than in the remainder of the Florida Keys

Legal-sized spiny lobsters continue to be larger and more abundant in fully protected zones than in reference sites of comparable habitat In the sanctshyuary preservation areas (SPAs) they average above legal minimum size At reference sites they remain below legal size (Cox et al 2001) This is particushylarly true in the Western Sambo Ecological Reshyserve where the average size has been significantly larger than in reference areas during both the open and closed fishing seasons (C Cox pers comm Gregory 2001) Catch rates (number of lobsters per trap) are also higher within the Western Sambo Ecological Reserve than within two adjacent fished areas (Gregory 2001)

Queen conch populations have remained low in the last decade despite a ban on commercial and recshyreational fishing since the mid-1980s An intensive monitoring program directed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissionrsquos Florida Marine Research Institute (FWCFMRI) continues to find no significant differences in conch aggregashytion sizes density or abundance between fully protected zones and reference sites in the Sanctuary (Glazer 2001) Attempts to supplement wild popushylations with laboratory-reared stock and experishyments to improve reproductive output are undershyway to address the long-term demise of this species

Additional monitoring and some experimental research are focused on sea urchin populations within the Florida Keys Various scientists specushylate urchins play a critical role in structuring reef

Figure 150 Selected fish species that are numerically dominant or account for much of the biomass on Florida Keys reefs (Photos FKNMS)

106106106106106106106106106106

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OTENTIA

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()

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Red

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sau

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mp

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racu

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Overfishing (30 SPR)

GROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERS SNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERS GRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTS

Bla

ck

Yellow

fin

Yellow

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ed h

ind

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d h

ind

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ripe

dW

hit

e

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oice

100 just a few species (Bohnsack et 90 al 1999) 80

The numerically dominant fishes70

observed were bluehead wrasse60

50 (Thalassoma bifasciatum) bishy40 color damselfish (Stegastes 30 partitus) tomtate (Haemulon 20 aurolineatum) sergeant major 10 (Abudefduf saxatilis) striped 0 parrotfish (Scarus croicensis)

yellowtail snapper (Ocyurus chysurus) bluestriped grunt (Haemulon sciurus) white grunt

Figure 151 Estimated percent Spawning Potential Ratios (SPR) for 35 species (Haemulon plumieri) maskedof reef fish comprised of groupers snappers grunts hogfish and great

goby (Coryphopterus person-barracuda Black bars indicate stock ldquooverfishingrdquo and blue bars indicate the stock is above the 30 SPR US Federal standard (Modified from Ault et al atus) and French grunt (Haeshy1998)

communities by acting as key herbivores keeping algae in check so adult corals can continue to grow and new corals may recruit to appropriate substrate Reductions in the sea urchin population due to a massive Caribbean-wide die-off in 1983 and relashytively poor recovery of populations since then have been confirmed by two separate teams in the zone monitoring program (Fogarty and Enstrom 2001 Miller et al 2001) Both document very low abunshydances of sea urchins especially the long-spined sea urchin Two research efforts underway in the Sanctuary are exploring viable means of restoring populations of this keystone species to coral reef habitats

FishFishFishFishFish ndash Considerable scientific attention has been

107107107107107107107107107107

paid to fish species of the Florida Keys over the last several decades prior to the designation of the Sanctuary and its fully protected zones Starck (1968) identified 517 fish species from the Florida Keys including over 389 reef fish Addishytional surveys have been conducted since 1979 documenting species composition abundance frequency and size estimates (Bohnsack et al 1999) Between 1979-1998 a total of 263 reef fish taxa representing 54 families were observed (Bohnsack et al 1999) Numerically over half (59) of all fish were from just 10 species (Fig 150) The majority of total fish biomass was comprised of

mulon flavolineatum) Other species accounting for most of

the observed biomass were tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) gray snapper Bermuda chub (Kyphosus sectatrix) stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) smallmouth grunt (Haemulon chrysargyreum) and yellow goatfish (Mulloidichthys martinicus) (Bohnsack et al 1999)

Trends in spatial distribution and differences in populations over time are also noted In most cases relatively few fish of legal harvestable size were seen This is consistent with other studies indicating reef fish are highly exploited Based on federal standards (Ault et al 1998) 13 of 16 species of groupers seven of 13 snappers one

wrasse and two of five grunts are overfished in the Florida Keys (Fig

Figure 152 Gray snapper have benefitted from the fully 151) Non-sustainable fisheries protected zones (Photo FKNMS) practices are likely changing trophic

interactions on reefs with secondary effects such as reduced reproductive capacity (PDT 1990) and shifts in ecosystem structure and function

Despite declines elsewhere in the Sanctuary fish numbers of some economically important species are increasing somewhat in the fully protected zones Analyses of three years of reef fish data show average densities (number of individuals per sample) for the exploited fish species ndash gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus Fig 152) yellowtail

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BBBBBAAAAA

CCCC DDDDD

Figure 153 A Map of water quality stations in FKNMS that are clustered according to statistical similarities in water quality parameters B Total phosphus (TP) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 Note significant increases in the Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys Lower Keys and portions of the Middle and Upper Keys C Nitrate (NO

3) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 Increases

occurred in the Southwest Florida Shelf Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys and Lower and Upper Keys D Total organic nitrogen (TON) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 A moderate decrease in TON occurred in some areas in contrast to increases in TP and NO

3 (Source Jones and Boyer 2001)

snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus) and grouper (several economically important species were combined) ndash are higher in the SPAs than in fished reference sites (Bohnsack et al 2001) Complementing this data is a trend in increasing average abundance of three species of snapper (gray snapper schoolmaster and yellowtail snapper) at sites monitored by Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) volunteers before and after designation of the fully protected zones (Pattengill-Semmens 2001)

Water QualityWater QualityWater QualityWater QualityWater Quality ndash Reduced salinity agricultural and industrial chemical contamination turbidity and high nutrients possibly from sewage upshywelling or groundwater have all impacted water quality to some degree in Southeast Florida Florida Bay and the Florida Keys Ocean outfalls along the coast introduce millions of gallons of secondary sewage to coastal waters adding nutrishyents Eutrophication of nearshore waters (a result of excess nutrients) is a documented problem in the Keys Given these anthropogenic impacts and the importance of also fully understanding natural variability long-term water quality monitoring is

critical for the entire South Florida region Water quality has been monitored at fixed stations in the FKNMS since 1995 as part of the Water Quality Protection Program (FKNMS WQPP 2002) Results to date indicate dissolved oxygen total organic nitrogen and total organic carbon are higher in surface waters while salinity turbidity nitrite nitrate ammonium and total phosphorus are higher in bottom waters Geographical differshyences include higher nutrient concentrations in the Middle and Lower Keys than in the Upper Keys and Dry Tortugas regions Generally declining inshore to offshore trends along transects across Hawk Channel have been noted for nitrate ammoshynium silicate total organic carbon and nitrogen and turbidity (Jones and Boyer 2001)

Stations along passes between the Keys had higher nutrient concentrations phytoplankton biomass and turbidity than stations located off the Keys Although these differences were small the two shore types support different benthic communities which may reflect long-term effects of water quality on community composition Using a

108108108108108108108108108108

C

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multivariate statistical approach these stations were regrouped according to water quality This resulted in seven clusters of stations with different water quality characteristics (Fig 153) giving a functional zonation of Sanctuary water quality

Probably the most interesting results are temporal trends in concentrations of total phosphorus nitrate and total organic nitrogen for much of the Sanctuary There have been significant increases in total phosphorus for the Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys Lower Keys and portions of the Middle and Upper Keys No trend in total phosphorus has been observed in Florida Bay or in areas of the Sanctushyary most influenced by transport of Bay waters and there was no concurrent increase in the concenshytration of chlorophyll a a measure of phytoshyplankton in the water column There were large increases in nitrates which appeared to be seashysonal Most of the increases occurred in the Southshywest Florida Shelf Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys and the Lower and Upper Keys By contrast total organic nitrogen decreased modestly at many sites Most of the decreases occurred in the Southwest Florida Shelf the Sluiceway and the Lower and Upper Keys It is possible that these trends are driven by regional circulation patterns arising from the Loop and Florida Currents

Coastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef Economics

Much of South Florida is urban and its resident population continues to expand A total of 509 million people resided in the four-county area of South Florida (Miami-Dade Broward Palm Beach and Monroe Counties) in 2000 an increase of 231 in the past 10 years (US Bureau of the Census 2002) Of this total 225 million live in Miami-Dade 80000 live in Monroe (Florida

Figure 154 Visitors and residents at a South Florida beach (Photo NOS Photo Gallery)

Keys) 113 million in Palm Beach and 162 milshylion in Broward counties

Due to its climate and natural resources South Florida draws millions of seasonal and temporary visitors (Fig 154) Miami-Dade County receives a daily summer average of 240000 seasonal and temporary visitors and a daily winter average of 308000 visitors Each day Broward County receives between 140000-320000 visitors deshypending on the season Palm Beach County reshyceives 73000-183000 visitors and Monroe County receives 30000-36000 visitors (Johns et al 2001) Including these visitors gives Miami-Dade Broward Palm Beach and Monroe Counshyties a functional population145 of 249-256 million 176-194 million 12-13 million and 110000shy116000 respectively

Johns et al (2001) estimated market economic contributions and non-market economic user values for recreational use of artificial and natural reefs In the four-county South Florida region residents and visitors spent 182 million person-days fishing diving and viewing natural coral reefs from glass-bottom boats yielding an annual non-market economic use value estimate of nearly $228

million This annual value146 yields an Table 15 Recreation and tourism on natural reefs in Southeast Florida estimate of the asset value of the naturalTotals for these economic values are likely to be underestimated because the data do not include inter-regional flows (Source Johns et al 2001) reefs at $76 billion Additional informashy

tion on the economic impact of tourism has been summarized in Table 15

In addition to supporting tourism in the region coral reefs play an important role in maintaining Floridarsquos commercial and recreational fisheries In 2000 Monroe

145 Functional populations include the number of people in a given area on a given day which demand local services (eg freshwater sewage and solid waste disposal electricity transporation services) This number of people includes not only the permanent residents of an area but also seasonal and temporary visitors

146 In calculating this value it was capitalized at a real interest rate (ie lsquointerest rate net of inflationrsquo of 3 into perpetuity) 109109109109109109109109109109

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ent

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rcen

t Cov

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t Cov

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rcen

t Cov

er

12

1034 993

10

833 8

655

6

642

4

2

0 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Figure 145 Mean percent stony coral cover at 160 stations in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary 1996-2000 (Modified from Jaap et al 2001)

Condition of Coral Reef EcosystemsCondition of Coral Reef EcosystemsCondition of Coral Reef EcosystemsCondition of Coral Reef EcosystemsCondition of Coral Reef Ecosystems

Historical fluctuations in sea level have influenced the reefs of Florida with the last significant rise in sea level starting about 6000 years ago Since that time the reefs off Southeast Florida and the Florshyida Keys have been building Greater reef developshyment in those areas generally occurs in the Upper and Lower Keys where the Keys protect reefs from direct water flows from the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Bay (DoC 1996 Robbin 1981 Shinn et al 1989)

Although the reefs of Florida have existed for the past several thousands years they have only recently become the focus of scientific research and monitoring in an attempt to fully understand changes over time Since the creation of the FKNMS the reefs and associated marine habitats of the Florida Keys have become the subject of a broad research and monitoring program that seeks to establish baseline data on ecosystem condition and ascertain cause-and-effect linkages The reefs and banks of Floridarsquos southeastern coast and the Middle Grounds are not as well studied as those of the Florida Keys though they are beginning to be mapped and estimates of cover are available from some monitoring programs As a result the condishytion of Floridarsquos coral ecosystems can be best determined for Florida Keys reefs at this time comprehensive long-term monitoring of various ecosystem components is critical for the southeastshyern coast and Middle Grounds

In the Florida Keys Sanctuary-wide monitoring of water quality seagrasses and coral and hardbottom communities began in 1994 under a Water Quality Protection Program that was jointly undertaken by

NOAA and the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) In 1997 when a network of fully protected zones or marine reserves were implemented a Zone Monitoring Program was initiated to determine whether the zones meet their objectives of reducing pressure on heavily used reefs preserving biodiversity facilitating research and reducing use conflicts among others Each of these monitoring programs and their methods are described in the Current Conservation Management section of this report To date over five years of data from the Water Quality Protection Program and three years of data from the Zone Monitoring Program have provided Sanctuary managers with emerging trends in coral reef ecosystem health throughout the Florida Keys

CoralCoralCoralCoralCoral ndash Early surveys of Florida Keys coral reefs have documented two species of fire coral 55 species of octocoral and 64 taxa of stony corals (DoC 1996 Levy et al 1996)

Under the Zone Monitoring Program scientists from the University of North Carolina at Wilmingtonrsquos National Undersea Research Center (UNCWNURC) have more recently conducted rapid large-scale assessments of coral reefs and hardbottom communities in the Sanctuary In their 1999 assessment the UNCWNURC rapid assessment and rmonitoring program found coral cover highly variable by both habitat type and region (Miller et al 2001) Jaap et al (2001) confirmed that gains and losses of coral cover in the Florida Keys fluctuate among habitat types with patch reef habitats suffering the fewest losses and exhibiting the highest average percent cover over time

Since 1996 over 66 of 160 stations in the Coral ReefHardbottom Monitoring Project of the Water Quality Protection Program exhibited losses in stony coral diversity From 1996 to 2000 stony coral cover Sanctuary-wide decreased by 366 to a low of 66 in 2000 with the greatest relative change occurring in the Upper Keys (Jaap et al 2001 Fig 145) During this time 67 of monitoring stations had reduced stony coral species richness 20 gained species and 13 had unchanged species richness (Jaap et al 2001) However positive trends were noted in the 1999shy2000 survey period when 69 stations had greater numbers of stony coral species 56 stations had

103103103103103103103103103103

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Figure 146 Changes in elkhorn coral cover at West Sambo 1996 above and 2001 below (Photo EPAFKNMS Coral Reef Monitoring Project funded by EPA UNCW and NOAA)

fewer species and 35 stations remained unchanged (Jaap et al 2001)

In addition to coral cover recruitment of stony corals to the Florida Keys ecosystem is a basic measure of overall community health Relationshyships between coral cover recruitment and juveshynile mortality are assessed at six sites in both fully protected Sanctuary zones and in reference areas (Aronson et al 2001) Differences in coral recruitshyment have been seen among all sites over two years More important perhaps is that juvenile mortality was greatest at shallow stations in the first year (1998) which coincided with a direct strike from Hurricane Georges in the Lower Keys UNCWNURC rapid assessment monitoring of benthic communities indicated no significant differences in juvenile coral density by habitat type and region in 2000 (Miller et al 2001)

Increasingly coral diseases threaten the overall health and vitality of reef systems in the Florida Keys However only three of ten presumptive or purported pathogens have been positively identishyfied (Richardson 1998) The Coral ReefHardshybottom Monitoring Project documented increases in the number of stations with diseased coral the number of coral species with disease and the number of presumptive diseases (Jaap et al 2001) In 1998 a second ongoing coral disease etiology and monitoring program documented regional differences in the incidence of disease with the highest concentration of coral diseases near Key West and in the Lower Keys Significant seasonal increases in diseases were also noted in these

regions (Mueller et al 2001) Back reef areas showed the highest prevalence of disease These areas are dominated by elkhorn coral which is susceptible to specific disease conditions (Mueller et al 2001 Fig 146) Aspergillosis a fungal disease that targets the sea fan (Gorgonia venshytalina) was the most commonly reported disease Sanctuary-wide during these surveys (Mueller et al 2001)

In addition to confirmed and purported coral disshyeases coral bleaching impacts the Sanctuaryrsquos reefs (Fig 147) Over the past 20 years bleaching events have increased in both frequency and duration (Hoegh-Guldberg 1999 Jaap 1990) Massive coral bleaching was first recorded in 1983 along the outer reef tract of the Lower Keys Shallow fore reef habitats were most affected (Causey in press) This event was preceded by periods of low wind and high air temperature contributing to localized increased water temperature

Massive bleaching occurred again in July 1987 following doldrum-like weather conditions This time the outer reefs throughout the Florida Keys were afflicted and secondary impacts such as coral disease were observed Then in July 1990 a masshysive bleaching event occurred Keys-wide Inshore reefs bleached for the first time and mortality of blade fire corals (Millepora complanata) reached over 65 on the shallow crest of Looe Key Reef in the Lower Keys (Causey in press)

Bleaching has both expanded and intensified in the last decade Another massive episode in 1997 targeted both the inshore and offshore reefs Before the reefs could adequately recover lingering high water temperatures and a particularly strong El Nintildeo event caused yet another bleaching in 1998

Figure 147 Bleached brain coral (Photo Mike White)

104104104104104104104104104104

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This time the blade fire coral suffered 80-90 mortality (W Jaap pers comm) and has remained low in abundance throughout most of the area There have been similar bleaching observations regionally and internationally since 1987 and it is widely recognized that 1997 and 1998 were the worst years on record

While it is difficult to enumerate the exact causes of coral mortality from any given perturbation coral bleaching is undoubtedly responsible for part of the dramatic declines in stony coral cover observed Sanctuary-wide in the last five years (Causey pers obs) Observations from the research community reinforce the results from several monitoring programs that show declines in coral health This highlights the importance of continued monitoring Empirical cause-and-effect studies might provide additional methods to alleviate these impacts and improve overall reef health

Along the southeastern shoreline there is little long-term data on abundance andor cover for benthic reef components The predominant inforshymation on status and trends is anecdotal However some reefs appear healthy when compared to hisshytorical information and personal recollections Bleaching has been observed over the years along the southeastern reefs at a comparable level to the Florida Keys

There is no information available at this time on the status of corals and benthic communities at the Florida Middle Grounds

Marine Algae Other Plants and BenthicMarine Algae Other Plants and BenthicMarine Algae Other Plants and BenthicMarine Algae Other Plants and BenthicMarine Algae Other Plants and Benthic CoverCoverCoverCoverCover ndash Ninety species of marine macroalgae have been identified from coral reefs within the FKNMS (Littler et al 1986) Additionally there are seven species of seagrasses (Fourqurean et al 2002) in the region Six species are common throughout South Florida (Fig 148) whereas one endemic species of seagrass is only found in the northern part of Biscayne Bay Three species of mangrove also grow in Florida (Mote Marine Laboratory 2002)

Benthic monitoring under the Sanctuaryrsquos Zone Monitoring Program indicates algae and attached invertebrate populations (sponges and soft corals) fluctuate widely between seasons and years (Aronson et al 2001) As with coral communities

Figure 148 Seagrass meadow at Indian River Lagoon on Floridarsquos eastern coast (Photo South Florida Water Management District)

some of this variability can be attributed to storms around the Florida Keys in 1998 and 1999

Functional group cover analyses from Jaap et al (2001) show a slight increase in macroalgal cover in all regions of the Florida Keys between 1996 and 2000 and indicate a general decrease in sponge and soft coral cover Miller et al (1999) found algae dominated all sites with average cover genshyerally above 75 in the Keys and above 50 in the Dry Tortugas region (2000) At deeper sites preshydominant algal functional groups were fine and thick turf algae brown frondose algae green calcareous algae (mainly Halimeda spp) and crustose coralline algae Crustose coralline algae and green calcareous algae comprised a greater proportion of total algal cover at shallower sites than at deeper sites In the Dry Tortugas algal cover was mostly green calcareous algae and two genera of brown frondose algae

In addition sponge and soft coral coverages were minor (generally less than 10) at shallow and deeper sites in the Keys (Miller et al 1999) and generally low in the Dry Tortugas region (less than 20) (Miller et al 2000) Overall variability is high across all regions for sponge cover (Miller et al 2001) Likewise analyses of benthic composishytion between fully protected zones and reference areas in the Sanctuary indicate that changes obshy

105105105105105105105105105105

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AAAAA BBBBB

Fig 149 A Caribbean spiny lobster (Photo Roberto Sozzani) B queen conch (Photo Caribbean Fishery Manageshyment Council)

served cannot be attributed to recent protection from fishing but are likely a result of the initial biased selection of one of the zone types (Miller et al 2001)

At least one species of seagrass was present at over 80 of the FKNMS stations monitored under the Water Quality Protection Program indicating a coverage of approximately 12800 km2 of seagrass beds within the 17000 km2 study area that lies within and adjacent to the Sanctuary (Fourqurean et al 1999) The primary species of seagrasses within the Sanctuary are turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum) manatee grass (Syringodium filishyforme) shoal grass (Halodule wrightii) and balloon grass (Halophila decipiens)

As with coral communities there is currently no comprehensive data available on algae or sea-grasses from Floridarsquos southeastern coast or Middle Grounds regions

Mobile invertebratesMobile invertebratesMobile invertebratesMobile invertebratesMobile invertebrates ndash Diverse groups of inverteshybrates have been identified in the Florida Keys inshycluding 117 species of sponges (Levy et al 1996) 89 species of polychaete worms (Levy et al 1996) more than 1400 species of mollusks (Mikkelsen and Bieler 2000) 371 species of crustaceans (Levy et al 1996) and 82 species of echinoderms (Hendler et al 1995)

The focus of recent monitoring efforts has been on large mobile invertebrates such as the Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) and queen conch (Fig 149) Both have been moni-tored inside and outside of the Sanctuaryrsquos fully protected zones under the zone monitoring pro-gram The size of spiny lobsters are also being tracked in the Dry Tortugas where National Park designation eliminated this fishery several years ago Since the

closure individual lobsters have grown larger there than in the remainder of the Florida Keys

Legal-sized spiny lobsters continue to be larger and more abundant in fully protected zones than in reference sites of comparable habitat In the sanctshyuary preservation areas (SPAs) they average above legal minimum size At reference sites they remain below legal size (Cox et al 2001) This is particushylarly true in the Western Sambo Ecological Reshyserve where the average size has been significantly larger than in reference areas during both the open and closed fishing seasons (C Cox pers comm Gregory 2001) Catch rates (number of lobsters per trap) are also higher within the Western Sambo Ecological Reserve than within two adjacent fished areas (Gregory 2001)

Queen conch populations have remained low in the last decade despite a ban on commercial and recshyreational fishing since the mid-1980s An intensive monitoring program directed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissionrsquos Florida Marine Research Institute (FWCFMRI) continues to find no significant differences in conch aggregashytion sizes density or abundance between fully protected zones and reference sites in the Sanctuary (Glazer 2001) Attempts to supplement wild popushylations with laboratory-reared stock and experishyments to improve reproductive output are undershyway to address the long-term demise of this species

Additional monitoring and some experimental research are focused on sea urchin populations within the Florida Keys Various scientists specushylate urchins play a critical role in structuring reef

Figure 150 Selected fish species that are numerically dominant or account for much of the biomass on Florida Keys reefs (Photos FKNMS)

106106106106106106106106106106

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SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

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()

SPA

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OTENTIA

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()

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L RATIO

()

Red

Gra

ysby

Con

ey

Gag

Nas

sau

Sca

mp

Sno

wy

War

saw

Gra

yM

utto

n

Cub

era

Dog

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Tom

tate

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gate

Bar

racu

da

Overfishing (30 SPR)

GROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERS SNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERS GRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTS

Bla

ck

Yellow

fin

Yellow

mou

thR

ed h

ind

Roc

k hin

d

Spe

ckle

d h

ind

Yellow

edge

Jew

fish

Hog

fish

Yellow

tail

Sch

oolm

aste

rB

lack

fin

Bla

ck

Silk

Verm

illion

Blu

est

ripe

dW

hit

e

Sai

lorrsquo

s ch

oice

100 just a few species (Bohnsack et 90 al 1999) 80

The numerically dominant fishes70

observed were bluehead wrasse60

50 (Thalassoma bifasciatum) bishy40 color damselfish (Stegastes 30 partitus) tomtate (Haemulon 20 aurolineatum) sergeant major 10 (Abudefduf saxatilis) striped 0 parrotfish (Scarus croicensis)

yellowtail snapper (Ocyurus chysurus) bluestriped grunt (Haemulon sciurus) white grunt

Figure 151 Estimated percent Spawning Potential Ratios (SPR) for 35 species (Haemulon plumieri) maskedof reef fish comprised of groupers snappers grunts hogfish and great

goby (Coryphopterus person-barracuda Black bars indicate stock ldquooverfishingrdquo and blue bars indicate the stock is above the 30 SPR US Federal standard (Modified from Ault et al atus) and French grunt (Haeshy1998)

communities by acting as key herbivores keeping algae in check so adult corals can continue to grow and new corals may recruit to appropriate substrate Reductions in the sea urchin population due to a massive Caribbean-wide die-off in 1983 and relashytively poor recovery of populations since then have been confirmed by two separate teams in the zone monitoring program (Fogarty and Enstrom 2001 Miller et al 2001) Both document very low abunshydances of sea urchins especially the long-spined sea urchin Two research efforts underway in the Sanctuary are exploring viable means of restoring populations of this keystone species to coral reef habitats

FishFishFishFishFish ndash Considerable scientific attention has been

107107107107107107107107107107

paid to fish species of the Florida Keys over the last several decades prior to the designation of the Sanctuary and its fully protected zones Starck (1968) identified 517 fish species from the Florida Keys including over 389 reef fish Addishytional surveys have been conducted since 1979 documenting species composition abundance frequency and size estimates (Bohnsack et al 1999) Between 1979-1998 a total of 263 reef fish taxa representing 54 families were observed (Bohnsack et al 1999) Numerically over half (59) of all fish were from just 10 species (Fig 150) The majority of total fish biomass was comprised of

mulon flavolineatum) Other species accounting for most of

the observed biomass were tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) gray snapper Bermuda chub (Kyphosus sectatrix) stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) smallmouth grunt (Haemulon chrysargyreum) and yellow goatfish (Mulloidichthys martinicus) (Bohnsack et al 1999)

Trends in spatial distribution and differences in populations over time are also noted In most cases relatively few fish of legal harvestable size were seen This is consistent with other studies indicating reef fish are highly exploited Based on federal standards (Ault et al 1998) 13 of 16 species of groupers seven of 13 snappers one

wrasse and two of five grunts are overfished in the Florida Keys (Fig

Figure 152 Gray snapper have benefitted from the fully 151) Non-sustainable fisheries protected zones (Photo FKNMS) practices are likely changing trophic

interactions on reefs with secondary effects such as reduced reproductive capacity (PDT 1990) and shifts in ecosystem structure and function

Despite declines elsewhere in the Sanctuary fish numbers of some economically important species are increasing somewhat in the fully protected zones Analyses of three years of reef fish data show average densities (number of individuals per sample) for the exploited fish species ndash gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus Fig 152) yellowtail

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CCCC DDDDD

Figure 153 A Map of water quality stations in FKNMS that are clustered according to statistical similarities in water quality parameters B Total phosphus (TP) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 Note significant increases in the Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys Lower Keys and portions of the Middle and Upper Keys C Nitrate (NO

3) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 Increases

occurred in the Southwest Florida Shelf Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys and Lower and Upper Keys D Total organic nitrogen (TON) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 A moderate decrease in TON occurred in some areas in contrast to increases in TP and NO

3 (Source Jones and Boyer 2001)

snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus) and grouper (several economically important species were combined) ndash are higher in the SPAs than in fished reference sites (Bohnsack et al 2001) Complementing this data is a trend in increasing average abundance of three species of snapper (gray snapper schoolmaster and yellowtail snapper) at sites monitored by Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) volunteers before and after designation of the fully protected zones (Pattengill-Semmens 2001)

Water QualityWater QualityWater QualityWater QualityWater Quality ndash Reduced salinity agricultural and industrial chemical contamination turbidity and high nutrients possibly from sewage upshywelling or groundwater have all impacted water quality to some degree in Southeast Florida Florida Bay and the Florida Keys Ocean outfalls along the coast introduce millions of gallons of secondary sewage to coastal waters adding nutrishyents Eutrophication of nearshore waters (a result of excess nutrients) is a documented problem in the Keys Given these anthropogenic impacts and the importance of also fully understanding natural variability long-term water quality monitoring is

critical for the entire South Florida region Water quality has been monitored at fixed stations in the FKNMS since 1995 as part of the Water Quality Protection Program (FKNMS WQPP 2002) Results to date indicate dissolved oxygen total organic nitrogen and total organic carbon are higher in surface waters while salinity turbidity nitrite nitrate ammonium and total phosphorus are higher in bottom waters Geographical differshyences include higher nutrient concentrations in the Middle and Lower Keys than in the Upper Keys and Dry Tortugas regions Generally declining inshore to offshore trends along transects across Hawk Channel have been noted for nitrate ammoshynium silicate total organic carbon and nitrogen and turbidity (Jones and Boyer 2001)

Stations along passes between the Keys had higher nutrient concentrations phytoplankton biomass and turbidity than stations located off the Keys Although these differences were small the two shore types support different benthic communities which may reflect long-term effects of water quality on community composition Using a

108108108108108108108108108108

C

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A

multivariate statistical approach these stations were regrouped according to water quality This resulted in seven clusters of stations with different water quality characteristics (Fig 153) giving a functional zonation of Sanctuary water quality

Probably the most interesting results are temporal trends in concentrations of total phosphorus nitrate and total organic nitrogen for much of the Sanctuary There have been significant increases in total phosphorus for the Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys Lower Keys and portions of the Middle and Upper Keys No trend in total phosphorus has been observed in Florida Bay or in areas of the Sanctushyary most influenced by transport of Bay waters and there was no concurrent increase in the concenshytration of chlorophyll a a measure of phytoshyplankton in the water column There were large increases in nitrates which appeared to be seashysonal Most of the increases occurred in the Southshywest Florida Shelf Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys and the Lower and Upper Keys By contrast total organic nitrogen decreased modestly at many sites Most of the decreases occurred in the Southwest Florida Shelf the Sluiceway and the Lower and Upper Keys It is possible that these trends are driven by regional circulation patterns arising from the Loop and Florida Currents

Coastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef Economics

Much of South Florida is urban and its resident population continues to expand A total of 509 million people resided in the four-county area of South Florida (Miami-Dade Broward Palm Beach and Monroe Counties) in 2000 an increase of 231 in the past 10 years (US Bureau of the Census 2002) Of this total 225 million live in Miami-Dade 80000 live in Monroe (Florida

Figure 154 Visitors and residents at a South Florida beach (Photo NOS Photo Gallery)

Keys) 113 million in Palm Beach and 162 milshylion in Broward counties

Due to its climate and natural resources South Florida draws millions of seasonal and temporary visitors (Fig 154) Miami-Dade County receives a daily summer average of 240000 seasonal and temporary visitors and a daily winter average of 308000 visitors Each day Broward County receives between 140000-320000 visitors deshypending on the season Palm Beach County reshyceives 73000-183000 visitors and Monroe County receives 30000-36000 visitors (Johns et al 2001) Including these visitors gives Miami-Dade Broward Palm Beach and Monroe Counshyties a functional population145 of 249-256 million 176-194 million 12-13 million and 110000shy116000 respectively

Johns et al (2001) estimated market economic contributions and non-market economic user values for recreational use of artificial and natural reefs In the four-county South Florida region residents and visitors spent 182 million person-days fishing diving and viewing natural coral reefs from glass-bottom boats yielding an annual non-market economic use value estimate of nearly $228

million This annual value146 yields an Table 15 Recreation and tourism on natural reefs in Southeast Florida estimate of the asset value of the naturalTotals for these economic values are likely to be underestimated because the data do not include inter-regional flows (Source Johns et al 2001) reefs at $76 billion Additional informashy

tion on the economic impact of tourism has been summarized in Table 15

In addition to supporting tourism in the region coral reefs play an important role in maintaining Floridarsquos commercial and recreational fisheries In 2000 Monroe

145 Functional populations include the number of people in a given area on a given day which demand local services (eg freshwater sewage and solid waste disposal electricity transporation services) This number of people includes not only the permanent residents of an area but also seasonal and temporary visitors

146 In calculating this value it was capitalized at a real interest rate (ie lsquointerest rate net of inflationrsquo of 3 into perpetuity) 109109109109109109109109109109

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Figure 146 Changes in elkhorn coral cover at West Sambo 1996 above and 2001 below (Photo EPAFKNMS Coral Reef Monitoring Project funded by EPA UNCW and NOAA)

fewer species and 35 stations remained unchanged (Jaap et al 2001)

In addition to coral cover recruitment of stony corals to the Florida Keys ecosystem is a basic measure of overall community health Relationshyships between coral cover recruitment and juveshynile mortality are assessed at six sites in both fully protected Sanctuary zones and in reference areas (Aronson et al 2001) Differences in coral recruitshyment have been seen among all sites over two years More important perhaps is that juvenile mortality was greatest at shallow stations in the first year (1998) which coincided with a direct strike from Hurricane Georges in the Lower Keys UNCWNURC rapid assessment monitoring of benthic communities indicated no significant differences in juvenile coral density by habitat type and region in 2000 (Miller et al 2001)

Increasingly coral diseases threaten the overall health and vitality of reef systems in the Florida Keys However only three of ten presumptive or purported pathogens have been positively identishyfied (Richardson 1998) The Coral ReefHardshybottom Monitoring Project documented increases in the number of stations with diseased coral the number of coral species with disease and the number of presumptive diseases (Jaap et al 2001) In 1998 a second ongoing coral disease etiology and monitoring program documented regional differences in the incidence of disease with the highest concentration of coral diseases near Key West and in the Lower Keys Significant seasonal increases in diseases were also noted in these

regions (Mueller et al 2001) Back reef areas showed the highest prevalence of disease These areas are dominated by elkhorn coral which is susceptible to specific disease conditions (Mueller et al 2001 Fig 146) Aspergillosis a fungal disease that targets the sea fan (Gorgonia venshytalina) was the most commonly reported disease Sanctuary-wide during these surveys (Mueller et al 2001)

In addition to confirmed and purported coral disshyeases coral bleaching impacts the Sanctuaryrsquos reefs (Fig 147) Over the past 20 years bleaching events have increased in both frequency and duration (Hoegh-Guldberg 1999 Jaap 1990) Massive coral bleaching was first recorded in 1983 along the outer reef tract of the Lower Keys Shallow fore reef habitats were most affected (Causey in press) This event was preceded by periods of low wind and high air temperature contributing to localized increased water temperature

Massive bleaching occurred again in July 1987 following doldrum-like weather conditions This time the outer reefs throughout the Florida Keys were afflicted and secondary impacts such as coral disease were observed Then in July 1990 a masshysive bleaching event occurred Keys-wide Inshore reefs bleached for the first time and mortality of blade fire corals (Millepora complanata) reached over 65 on the shallow crest of Looe Key Reef in the Lower Keys (Causey in press)

Bleaching has both expanded and intensified in the last decade Another massive episode in 1997 targeted both the inshore and offshore reefs Before the reefs could adequately recover lingering high water temperatures and a particularly strong El Nintildeo event caused yet another bleaching in 1998

Figure 147 Bleached brain coral (Photo Mike White)

104104104104104104104104104104

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A

This time the blade fire coral suffered 80-90 mortality (W Jaap pers comm) and has remained low in abundance throughout most of the area There have been similar bleaching observations regionally and internationally since 1987 and it is widely recognized that 1997 and 1998 were the worst years on record

While it is difficult to enumerate the exact causes of coral mortality from any given perturbation coral bleaching is undoubtedly responsible for part of the dramatic declines in stony coral cover observed Sanctuary-wide in the last five years (Causey pers obs) Observations from the research community reinforce the results from several monitoring programs that show declines in coral health This highlights the importance of continued monitoring Empirical cause-and-effect studies might provide additional methods to alleviate these impacts and improve overall reef health

Along the southeastern shoreline there is little long-term data on abundance andor cover for benthic reef components The predominant inforshymation on status and trends is anecdotal However some reefs appear healthy when compared to hisshytorical information and personal recollections Bleaching has been observed over the years along the southeastern reefs at a comparable level to the Florida Keys

There is no information available at this time on the status of corals and benthic communities at the Florida Middle Grounds

Marine Algae Other Plants and BenthicMarine Algae Other Plants and BenthicMarine Algae Other Plants and BenthicMarine Algae Other Plants and BenthicMarine Algae Other Plants and Benthic CoverCoverCoverCoverCover ndash Ninety species of marine macroalgae have been identified from coral reefs within the FKNMS (Littler et al 1986) Additionally there are seven species of seagrasses (Fourqurean et al 2002) in the region Six species are common throughout South Florida (Fig 148) whereas one endemic species of seagrass is only found in the northern part of Biscayne Bay Three species of mangrove also grow in Florida (Mote Marine Laboratory 2002)

Benthic monitoring under the Sanctuaryrsquos Zone Monitoring Program indicates algae and attached invertebrate populations (sponges and soft corals) fluctuate widely between seasons and years (Aronson et al 2001) As with coral communities

Figure 148 Seagrass meadow at Indian River Lagoon on Floridarsquos eastern coast (Photo South Florida Water Management District)

some of this variability can be attributed to storms around the Florida Keys in 1998 and 1999

Functional group cover analyses from Jaap et al (2001) show a slight increase in macroalgal cover in all regions of the Florida Keys between 1996 and 2000 and indicate a general decrease in sponge and soft coral cover Miller et al (1999) found algae dominated all sites with average cover genshyerally above 75 in the Keys and above 50 in the Dry Tortugas region (2000) At deeper sites preshydominant algal functional groups were fine and thick turf algae brown frondose algae green calcareous algae (mainly Halimeda spp) and crustose coralline algae Crustose coralline algae and green calcareous algae comprised a greater proportion of total algal cover at shallower sites than at deeper sites In the Dry Tortugas algal cover was mostly green calcareous algae and two genera of brown frondose algae

In addition sponge and soft coral coverages were minor (generally less than 10) at shallow and deeper sites in the Keys (Miller et al 1999) and generally low in the Dry Tortugas region (less than 20) (Miller et al 2000) Overall variability is high across all regions for sponge cover (Miller et al 2001) Likewise analyses of benthic composishytion between fully protected zones and reference areas in the Sanctuary indicate that changes obshy

105105105105105105105105105105

FLO

RID

AFLO

RID

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RID

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RID

AFLO

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RID

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A

AAAAA BBBBB

Fig 149 A Caribbean spiny lobster (Photo Roberto Sozzani) B queen conch (Photo Caribbean Fishery Manageshyment Council)

served cannot be attributed to recent protection from fishing but are likely a result of the initial biased selection of one of the zone types (Miller et al 2001)

At least one species of seagrass was present at over 80 of the FKNMS stations monitored under the Water Quality Protection Program indicating a coverage of approximately 12800 km2 of seagrass beds within the 17000 km2 study area that lies within and adjacent to the Sanctuary (Fourqurean et al 1999) The primary species of seagrasses within the Sanctuary are turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum) manatee grass (Syringodium filishyforme) shoal grass (Halodule wrightii) and balloon grass (Halophila decipiens)

As with coral communities there is currently no comprehensive data available on algae or sea-grasses from Floridarsquos southeastern coast or Middle Grounds regions

Mobile invertebratesMobile invertebratesMobile invertebratesMobile invertebratesMobile invertebrates ndash Diverse groups of inverteshybrates have been identified in the Florida Keys inshycluding 117 species of sponges (Levy et al 1996) 89 species of polychaete worms (Levy et al 1996) more than 1400 species of mollusks (Mikkelsen and Bieler 2000) 371 species of crustaceans (Levy et al 1996) and 82 species of echinoderms (Hendler et al 1995)

The focus of recent monitoring efforts has been on large mobile invertebrates such as the Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) and queen conch (Fig 149) Both have been moni-tored inside and outside of the Sanctuaryrsquos fully protected zones under the zone monitoring pro-gram The size of spiny lobsters are also being tracked in the Dry Tortugas where National Park designation eliminated this fishery several years ago Since the

closure individual lobsters have grown larger there than in the remainder of the Florida Keys

Legal-sized spiny lobsters continue to be larger and more abundant in fully protected zones than in reference sites of comparable habitat In the sanctshyuary preservation areas (SPAs) they average above legal minimum size At reference sites they remain below legal size (Cox et al 2001) This is particushylarly true in the Western Sambo Ecological Reshyserve where the average size has been significantly larger than in reference areas during both the open and closed fishing seasons (C Cox pers comm Gregory 2001) Catch rates (number of lobsters per trap) are also higher within the Western Sambo Ecological Reserve than within two adjacent fished areas (Gregory 2001)

Queen conch populations have remained low in the last decade despite a ban on commercial and recshyreational fishing since the mid-1980s An intensive monitoring program directed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissionrsquos Florida Marine Research Institute (FWCFMRI) continues to find no significant differences in conch aggregashytion sizes density or abundance between fully protected zones and reference sites in the Sanctuary (Glazer 2001) Attempts to supplement wild popushylations with laboratory-reared stock and experishyments to improve reproductive output are undershyway to address the long-term demise of this species

Additional monitoring and some experimental research are focused on sea urchin populations within the Florida Keys Various scientists specushylate urchins play a critical role in structuring reef

Figure 150 Selected fish species that are numerically dominant or account for much of the biomass on Florida Keys reefs (Photos FKNMS)

106106106106106106106106106106

FLO

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A

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

Red

Gra

ysby

Con

ey

Gag

Nas

sau

Sca

mp

Sno

wy

War

saw

Gra

yM

utto

n

Cub

era

Dog

Lan

e

Red

Tom

tate

Mar

gate

Bar

racu

da

Overfishing (30 SPR)

GROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERS SNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERS GRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTS

Bla

ck

Yellow

fin

Yellow

mou

thR

ed h

ind

Roc

k hin

d

Spe

ckle

d h

ind

Yellow

edge

Jew

fish

Hog

fish

Yellow

tail

Sch

oolm

aste

rB

lack

fin

Bla

ck

Silk

Verm

illion

Blu

est

ripe

dW

hit

e

Sai

lorrsquo

s ch

oice

100 just a few species (Bohnsack et 90 al 1999) 80

The numerically dominant fishes70

observed were bluehead wrasse60

50 (Thalassoma bifasciatum) bishy40 color damselfish (Stegastes 30 partitus) tomtate (Haemulon 20 aurolineatum) sergeant major 10 (Abudefduf saxatilis) striped 0 parrotfish (Scarus croicensis)

yellowtail snapper (Ocyurus chysurus) bluestriped grunt (Haemulon sciurus) white grunt

Figure 151 Estimated percent Spawning Potential Ratios (SPR) for 35 species (Haemulon plumieri) maskedof reef fish comprised of groupers snappers grunts hogfish and great

goby (Coryphopterus person-barracuda Black bars indicate stock ldquooverfishingrdquo and blue bars indicate the stock is above the 30 SPR US Federal standard (Modified from Ault et al atus) and French grunt (Haeshy1998)

communities by acting as key herbivores keeping algae in check so adult corals can continue to grow and new corals may recruit to appropriate substrate Reductions in the sea urchin population due to a massive Caribbean-wide die-off in 1983 and relashytively poor recovery of populations since then have been confirmed by two separate teams in the zone monitoring program (Fogarty and Enstrom 2001 Miller et al 2001) Both document very low abunshydances of sea urchins especially the long-spined sea urchin Two research efforts underway in the Sanctuary are exploring viable means of restoring populations of this keystone species to coral reef habitats

FishFishFishFishFish ndash Considerable scientific attention has been

107107107107107107107107107107

paid to fish species of the Florida Keys over the last several decades prior to the designation of the Sanctuary and its fully protected zones Starck (1968) identified 517 fish species from the Florida Keys including over 389 reef fish Addishytional surveys have been conducted since 1979 documenting species composition abundance frequency and size estimates (Bohnsack et al 1999) Between 1979-1998 a total of 263 reef fish taxa representing 54 families were observed (Bohnsack et al 1999) Numerically over half (59) of all fish were from just 10 species (Fig 150) The majority of total fish biomass was comprised of

mulon flavolineatum) Other species accounting for most of

the observed biomass were tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) gray snapper Bermuda chub (Kyphosus sectatrix) stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) smallmouth grunt (Haemulon chrysargyreum) and yellow goatfish (Mulloidichthys martinicus) (Bohnsack et al 1999)

Trends in spatial distribution and differences in populations over time are also noted In most cases relatively few fish of legal harvestable size were seen This is consistent with other studies indicating reef fish are highly exploited Based on federal standards (Ault et al 1998) 13 of 16 species of groupers seven of 13 snappers one

wrasse and two of five grunts are overfished in the Florida Keys (Fig

Figure 152 Gray snapper have benefitted from the fully 151) Non-sustainable fisheries protected zones (Photo FKNMS) practices are likely changing trophic

interactions on reefs with secondary effects such as reduced reproductive capacity (PDT 1990) and shifts in ecosystem structure and function

Despite declines elsewhere in the Sanctuary fish numbers of some economically important species are increasing somewhat in the fully protected zones Analyses of three years of reef fish data show average densities (number of individuals per sample) for the exploited fish species ndash gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus Fig 152) yellowtail

FLO

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RID

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RID

AFLO

RID

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RID

AFLO

RID

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RID

AFLO

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AFLO

RID

A

BBBBBAAAAA

CCCC DDDDD

Figure 153 A Map of water quality stations in FKNMS that are clustered according to statistical similarities in water quality parameters B Total phosphus (TP) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 Note significant increases in the Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys Lower Keys and portions of the Middle and Upper Keys C Nitrate (NO

3) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 Increases

occurred in the Southwest Florida Shelf Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys and Lower and Upper Keys D Total organic nitrogen (TON) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 A moderate decrease in TON occurred in some areas in contrast to increases in TP and NO

3 (Source Jones and Boyer 2001)

snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus) and grouper (several economically important species were combined) ndash are higher in the SPAs than in fished reference sites (Bohnsack et al 2001) Complementing this data is a trend in increasing average abundance of three species of snapper (gray snapper schoolmaster and yellowtail snapper) at sites monitored by Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) volunteers before and after designation of the fully protected zones (Pattengill-Semmens 2001)

Water QualityWater QualityWater QualityWater QualityWater Quality ndash Reduced salinity agricultural and industrial chemical contamination turbidity and high nutrients possibly from sewage upshywelling or groundwater have all impacted water quality to some degree in Southeast Florida Florida Bay and the Florida Keys Ocean outfalls along the coast introduce millions of gallons of secondary sewage to coastal waters adding nutrishyents Eutrophication of nearshore waters (a result of excess nutrients) is a documented problem in the Keys Given these anthropogenic impacts and the importance of also fully understanding natural variability long-term water quality monitoring is

critical for the entire South Florida region Water quality has been monitored at fixed stations in the FKNMS since 1995 as part of the Water Quality Protection Program (FKNMS WQPP 2002) Results to date indicate dissolved oxygen total organic nitrogen and total organic carbon are higher in surface waters while salinity turbidity nitrite nitrate ammonium and total phosphorus are higher in bottom waters Geographical differshyences include higher nutrient concentrations in the Middle and Lower Keys than in the Upper Keys and Dry Tortugas regions Generally declining inshore to offshore trends along transects across Hawk Channel have been noted for nitrate ammoshynium silicate total organic carbon and nitrogen and turbidity (Jones and Boyer 2001)

Stations along passes between the Keys had higher nutrient concentrations phytoplankton biomass and turbidity than stations located off the Keys Although these differences were small the two shore types support different benthic communities which may reflect long-term effects of water quality on community composition Using a

108108108108108108108108108108

C

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A

multivariate statistical approach these stations were regrouped according to water quality This resulted in seven clusters of stations with different water quality characteristics (Fig 153) giving a functional zonation of Sanctuary water quality

Probably the most interesting results are temporal trends in concentrations of total phosphorus nitrate and total organic nitrogen for much of the Sanctuary There have been significant increases in total phosphorus for the Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys Lower Keys and portions of the Middle and Upper Keys No trend in total phosphorus has been observed in Florida Bay or in areas of the Sanctushyary most influenced by transport of Bay waters and there was no concurrent increase in the concenshytration of chlorophyll a a measure of phytoshyplankton in the water column There were large increases in nitrates which appeared to be seashysonal Most of the increases occurred in the Southshywest Florida Shelf Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys and the Lower and Upper Keys By contrast total organic nitrogen decreased modestly at many sites Most of the decreases occurred in the Southwest Florida Shelf the Sluiceway and the Lower and Upper Keys It is possible that these trends are driven by regional circulation patterns arising from the Loop and Florida Currents

Coastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef Economics

Much of South Florida is urban and its resident population continues to expand A total of 509 million people resided in the four-county area of South Florida (Miami-Dade Broward Palm Beach and Monroe Counties) in 2000 an increase of 231 in the past 10 years (US Bureau of the Census 2002) Of this total 225 million live in Miami-Dade 80000 live in Monroe (Florida

Figure 154 Visitors and residents at a South Florida beach (Photo NOS Photo Gallery)

Keys) 113 million in Palm Beach and 162 milshylion in Broward counties

Due to its climate and natural resources South Florida draws millions of seasonal and temporary visitors (Fig 154) Miami-Dade County receives a daily summer average of 240000 seasonal and temporary visitors and a daily winter average of 308000 visitors Each day Broward County receives between 140000-320000 visitors deshypending on the season Palm Beach County reshyceives 73000-183000 visitors and Monroe County receives 30000-36000 visitors (Johns et al 2001) Including these visitors gives Miami-Dade Broward Palm Beach and Monroe Counshyties a functional population145 of 249-256 million 176-194 million 12-13 million and 110000shy116000 respectively

Johns et al (2001) estimated market economic contributions and non-market economic user values for recreational use of artificial and natural reefs In the four-county South Florida region residents and visitors spent 182 million person-days fishing diving and viewing natural coral reefs from glass-bottom boats yielding an annual non-market economic use value estimate of nearly $228

million This annual value146 yields an Table 15 Recreation and tourism on natural reefs in Southeast Florida estimate of the asset value of the naturalTotals for these economic values are likely to be underestimated because the data do not include inter-regional flows (Source Johns et al 2001) reefs at $76 billion Additional informashy

tion on the economic impact of tourism has been summarized in Table 15

In addition to supporting tourism in the region coral reefs play an important role in maintaining Floridarsquos commercial and recreational fisheries In 2000 Monroe

145 Functional populations include the number of people in a given area on a given day which demand local services (eg freshwater sewage and solid waste disposal electricity transporation services) This number of people includes not only the permanent residents of an area but also seasonal and temporary visitors

146 In calculating this value it was capitalized at a real interest rate (ie lsquointerest rate net of inflationrsquo of 3 into perpetuity) 109109109109109109109109109109

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A

This time the blade fire coral suffered 80-90 mortality (W Jaap pers comm) and has remained low in abundance throughout most of the area There have been similar bleaching observations regionally and internationally since 1987 and it is widely recognized that 1997 and 1998 were the worst years on record

While it is difficult to enumerate the exact causes of coral mortality from any given perturbation coral bleaching is undoubtedly responsible for part of the dramatic declines in stony coral cover observed Sanctuary-wide in the last five years (Causey pers obs) Observations from the research community reinforce the results from several monitoring programs that show declines in coral health This highlights the importance of continued monitoring Empirical cause-and-effect studies might provide additional methods to alleviate these impacts and improve overall reef health

Along the southeastern shoreline there is little long-term data on abundance andor cover for benthic reef components The predominant inforshymation on status and trends is anecdotal However some reefs appear healthy when compared to hisshytorical information and personal recollections Bleaching has been observed over the years along the southeastern reefs at a comparable level to the Florida Keys

There is no information available at this time on the status of corals and benthic communities at the Florida Middle Grounds

Marine Algae Other Plants and BenthicMarine Algae Other Plants and BenthicMarine Algae Other Plants and BenthicMarine Algae Other Plants and BenthicMarine Algae Other Plants and Benthic CoverCoverCoverCoverCover ndash Ninety species of marine macroalgae have been identified from coral reefs within the FKNMS (Littler et al 1986) Additionally there are seven species of seagrasses (Fourqurean et al 2002) in the region Six species are common throughout South Florida (Fig 148) whereas one endemic species of seagrass is only found in the northern part of Biscayne Bay Three species of mangrove also grow in Florida (Mote Marine Laboratory 2002)

Benthic monitoring under the Sanctuaryrsquos Zone Monitoring Program indicates algae and attached invertebrate populations (sponges and soft corals) fluctuate widely between seasons and years (Aronson et al 2001) As with coral communities

Figure 148 Seagrass meadow at Indian River Lagoon on Floridarsquos eastern coast (Photo South Florida Water Management District)

some of this variability can be attributed to storms around the Florida Keys in 1998 and 1999

Functional group cover analyses from Jaap et al (2001) show a slight increase in macroalgal cover in all regions of the Florida Keys between 1996 and 2000 and indicate a general decrease in sponge and soft coral cover Miller et al (1999) found algae dominated all sites with average cover genshyerally above 75 in the Keys and above 50 in the Dry Tortugas region (2000) At deeper sites preshydominant algal functional groups were fine and thick turf algae brown frondose algae green calcareous algae (mainly Halimeda spp) and crustose coralline algae Crustose coralline algae and green calcareous algae comprised a greater proportion of total algal cover at shallower sites than at deeper sites In the Dry Tortugas algal cover was mostly green calcareous algae and two genera of brown frondose algae

In addition sponge and soft coral coverages were minor (generally less than 10) at shallow and deeper sites in the Keys (Miller et al 1999) and generally low in the Dry Tortugas region (less than 20) (Miller et al 2000) Overall variability is high across all regions for sponge cover (Miller et al 2001) Likewise analyses of benthic composishytion between fully protected zones and reference areas in the Sanctuary indicate that changes obshy

105105105105105105105105105105

FLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

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AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

A

AAAAA BBBBB

Fig 149 A Caribbean spiny lobster (Photo Roberto Sozzani) B queen conch (Photo Caribbean Fishery Manageshyment Council)

served cannot be attributed to recent protection from fishing but are likely a result of the initial biased selection of one of the zone types (Miller et al 2001)

At least one species of seagrass was present at over 80 of the FKNMS stations monitored under the Water Quality Protection Program indicating a coverage of approximately 12800 km2 of seagrass beds within the 17000 km2 study area that lies within and adjacent to the Sanctuary (Fourqurean et al 1999) The primary species of seagrasses within the Sanctuary are turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum) manatee grass (Syringodium filishyforme) shoal grass (Halodule wrightii) and balloon grass (Halophila decipiens)

As with coral communities there is currently no comprehensive data available on algae or sea-grasses from Floridarsquos southeastern coast or Middle Grounds regions

Mobile invertebratesMobile invertebratesMobile invertebratesMobile invertebratesMobile invertebrates ndash Diverse groups of inverteshybrates have been identified in the Florida Keys inshycluding 117 species of sponges (Levy et al 1996) 89 species of polychaete worms (Levy et al 1996) more than 1400 species of mollusks (Mikkelsen and Bieler 2000) 371 species of crustaceans (Levy et al 1996) and 82 species of echinoderms (Hendler et al 1995)

The focus of recent monitoring efforts has been on large mobile invertebrates such as the Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) and queen conch (Fig 149) Both have been moni-tored inside and outside of the Sanctuaryrsquos fully protected zones under the zone monitoring pro-gram The size of spiny lobsters are also being tracked in the Dry Tortugas where National Park designation eliminated this fishery several years ago Since the

closure individual lobsters have grown larger there than in the remainder of the Florida Keys

Legal-sized spiny lobsters continue to be larger and more abundant in fully protected zones than in reference sites of comparable habitat In the sanctshyuary preservation areas (SPAs) they average above legal minimum size At reference sites they remain below legal size (Cox et al 2001) This is particushylarly true in the Western Sambo Ecological Reshyserve where the average size has been significantly larger than in reference areas during both the open and closed fishing seasons (C Cox pers comm Gregory 2001) Catch rates (number of lobsters per trap) are also higher within the Western Sambo Ecological Reserve than within two adjacent fished areas (Gregory 2001)

Queen conch populations have remained low in the last decade despite a ban on commercial and recshyreational fishing since the mid-1980s An intensive monitoring program directed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissionrsquos Florida Marine Research Institute (FWCFMRI) continues to find no significant differences in conch aggregashytion sizes density or abundance between fully protected zones and reference sites in the Sanctuary (Glazer 2001) Attempts to supplement wild popushylations with laboratory-reared stock and experishyments to improve reproductive output are undershyway to address the long-term demise of this species

Additional monitoring and some experimental research are focused on sea urchin populations within the Florida Keys Various scientists specushylate urchins play a critical role in structuring reef

Figure 150 Selected fish species that are numerically dominant or account for much of the biomass on Florida Keys reefs (Photos FKNMS)

106106106106106106106106106106

FLO

RID

AFLO

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RID

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RID

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RID

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RID

A

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

Red

Gra

ysby

Con

ey

Gag

Nas

sau

Sca

mp

Sno

wy

War

saw

Gra

yM

utto

n

Cub

era

Dog

Lan

e

Red

Tom

tate

Mar

gate

Bar

racu

da

Overfishing (30 SPR)

GROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERS SNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERS GRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTS

Bla

ck

Yellow

fin

Yellow

mou

thR

ed h

ind

Roc

k hin

d

Spe

ckle

d h

ind

Yellow

edge

Jew

fish

Hog

fish

Yellow

tail

Sch

oolm

aste

rB

lack

fin

Bla

ck

Silk

Verm

illion

Blu

est

ripe

dW

hit

e

Sai

lorrsquo

s ch

oice

100 just a few species (Bohnsack et 90 al 1999) 80

The numerically dominant fishes70

observed were bluehead wrasse60

50 (Thalassoma bifasciatum) bishy40 color damselfish (Stegastes 30 partitus) tomtate (Haemulon 20 aurolineatum) sergeant major 10 (Abudefduf saxatilis) striped 0 parrotfish (Scarus croicensis)

yellowtail snapper (Ocyurus chysurus) bluestriped grunt (Haemulon sciurus) white grunt

Figure 151 Estimated percent Spawning Potential Ratios (SPR) for 35 species (Haemulon plumieri) maskedof reef fish comprised of groupers snappers grunts hogfish and great

goby (Coryphopterus person-barracuda Black bars indicate stock ldquooverfishingrdquo and blue bars indicate the stock is above the 30 SPR US Federal standard (Modified from Ault et al atus) and French grunt (Haeshy1998)

communities by acting as key herbivores keeping algae in check so adult corals can continue to grow and new corals may recruit to appropriate substrate Reductions in the sea urchin population due to a massive Caribbean-wide die-off in 1983 and relashytively poor recovery of populations since then have been confirmed by two separate teams in the zone monitoring program (Fogarty and Enstrom 2001 Miller et al 2001) Both document very low abunshydances of sea urchins especially the long-spined sea urchin Two research efforts underway in the Sanctuary are exploring viable means of restoring populations of this keystone species to coral reef habitats

FishFishFishFishFish ndash Considerable scientific attention has been

107107107107107107107107107107

paid to fish species of the Florida Keys over the last several decades prior to the designation of the Sanctuary and its fully protected zones Starck (1968) identified 517 fish species from the Florida Keys including over 389 reef fish Addishytional surveys have been conducted since 1979 documenting species composition abundance frequency and size estimates (Bohnsack et al 1999) Between 1979-1998 a total of 263 reef fish taxa representing 54 families were observed (Bohnsack et al 1999) Numerically over half (59) of all fish were from just 10 species (Fig 150) The majority of total fish biomass was comprised of

mulon flavolineatum) Other species accounting for most of

the observed biomass were tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) gray snapper Bermuda chub (Kyphosus sectatrix) stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) smallmouth grunt (Haemulon chrysargyreum) and yellow goatfish (Mulloidichthys martinicus) (Bohnsack et al 1999)

Trends in spatial distribution and differences in populations over time are also noted In most cases relatively few fish of legal harvestable size were seen This is consistent with other studies indicating reef fish are highly exploited Based on federal standards (Ault et al 1998) 13 of 16 species of groupers seven of 13 snappers one

wrasse and two of five grunts are overfished in the Florida Keys (Fig

Figure 152 Gray snapper have benefitted from the fully 151) Non-sustainable fisheries protected zones (Photo FKNMS) practices are likely changing trophic

interactions on reefs with secondary effects such as reduced reproductive capacity (PDT 1990) and shifts in ecosystem structure and function

Despite declines elsewhere in the Sanctuary fish numbers of some economically important species are increasing somewhat in the fully protected zones Analyses of three years of reef fish data show average densities (number of individuals per sample) for the exploited fish species ndash gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus Fig 152) yellowtail

FLO

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RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

A

BBBBBAAAAA

CCCC DDDDD

Figure 153 A Map of water quality stations in FKNMS that are clustered according to statistical similarities in water quality parameters B Total phosphus (TP) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 Note significant increases in the Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys Lower Keys and portions of the Middle and Upper Keys C Nitrate (NO

3) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 Increases

occurred in the Southwest Florida Shelf Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys and Lower and Upper Keys D Total organic nitrogen (TON) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 A moderate decrease in TON occurred in some areas in contrast to increases in TP and NO

3 (Source Jones and Boyer 2001)

snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus) and grouper (several economically important species were combined) ndash are higher in the SPAs than in fished reference sites (Bohnsack et al 2001) Complementing this data is a trend in increasing average abundance of three species of snapper (gray snapper schoolmaster and yellowtail snapper) at sites monitored by Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) volunteers before and after designation of the fully protected zones (Pattengill-Semmens 2001)

Water QualityWater QualityWater QualityWater QualityWater Quality ndash Reduced salinity agricultural and industrial chemical contamination turbidity and high nutrients possibly from sewage upshywelling or groundwater have all impacted water quality to some degree in Southeast Florida Florida Bay and the Florida Keys Ocean outfalls along the coast introduce millions of gallons of secondary sewage to coastal waters adding nutrishyents Eutrophication of nearshore waters (a result of excess nutrients) is a documented problem in the Keys Given these anthropogenic impacts and the importance of also fully understanding natural variability long-term water quality monitoring is

critical for the entire South Florida region Water quality has been monitored at fixed stations in the FKNMS since 1995 as part of the Water Quality Protection Program (FKNMS WQPP 2002) Results to date indicate dissolved oxygen total organic nitrogen and total organic carbon are higher in surface waters while salinity turbidity nitrite nitrate ammonium and total phosphorus are higher in bottom waters Geographical differshyences include higher nutrient concentrations in the Middle and Lower Keys than in the Upper Keys and Dry Tortugas regions Generally declining inshore to offshore trends along transects across Hawk Channel have been noted for nitrate ammoshynium silicate total organic carbon and nitrogen and turbidity (Jones and Boyer 2001)

Stations along passes between the Keys had higher nutrient concentrations phytoplankton biomass and turbidity than stations located off the Keys Although these differences were small the two shore types support different benthic communities which may reflect long-term effects of water quality on community composition Using a

108108108108108108108108108108

C

FLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

A

multivariate statistical approach these stations were regrouped according to water quality This resulted in seven clusters of stations with different water quality characteristics (Fig 153) giving a functional zonation of Sanctuary water quality

Probably the most interesting results are temporal trends in concentrations of total phosphorus nitrate and total organic nitrogen for much of the Sanctuary There have been significant increases in total phosphorus for the Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys Lower Keys and portions of the Middle and Upper Keys No trend in total phosphorus has been observed in Florida Bay or in areas of the Sanctushyary most influenced by transport of Bay waters and there was no concurrent increase in the concenshytration of chlorophyll a a measure of phytoshyplankton in the water column There were large increases in nitrates which appeared to be seashysonal Most of the increases occurred in the Southshywest Florida Shelf Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys and the Lower and Upper Keys By contrast total organic nitrogen decreased modestly at many sites Most of the decreases occurred in the Southwest Florida Shelf the Sluiceway and the Lower and Upper Keys It is possible that these trends are driven by regional circulation patterns arising from the Loop and Florida Currents

Coastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef Economics

Much of South Florida is urban and its resident population continues to expand A total of 509 million people resided in the four-county area of South Florida (Miami-Dade Broward Palm Beach and Monroe Counties) in 2000 an increase of 231 in the past 10 years (US Bureau of the Census 2002) Of this total 225 million live in Miami-Dade 80000 live in Monroe (Florida

Figure 154 Visitors and residents at a South Florida beach (Photo NOS Photo Gallery)

Keys) 113 million in Palm Beach and 162 milshylion in Broward counties

Due to its climate and natural resources South Florida draws millions of seasonal and temporary visitors (Fig 154) Miami-Dade County receives a daily summer average of 240000 seasonal and temporary visitors and a daily winter average of 308000 visitors Each day Broward County receives between 140000-320000 visitors deshypending on the season Palm Beach County reshyceives 73000-183000 visitors and Monroe County receives 30000-36000 visitors (Johns et al 2001) Including these visitors gives Miami-Dade Broward Palm Beach and Monroe Counshyties a functional population145 of 249-256 million 176-194 million 12-13 million and 110000shy116000 respectively

Johns et al (2001) estimated market economic contributions and non-market economic user values for recreational use of artificial and natural reefs In the four-county South Florida region residents and visitors spent 182 million person-days fishing diving and viewing natural coral reefs from glass-bottom boats yielding an annual non-market economic use value estimate of nearly $228

million This annual value146 yields an Table 15 Recreation and tourism on natural reefs in Southeast Florida estimate of the asset value of the naturalTotals for these economic values are likely to be underestimated because the data do not include inter-regional flows (Source Johns et al 2001) reefs at $76 billion Additional informashy

tion on the economic impact of tourism has been summarized in Table 15

In addition to supporting tourism in the region coral reefs play an important role in maintaining Floridarsquos commercial and recreational fisheries In 2000 Monroe

145 Functional populations include the number of people in a given area on a given day which demand local services (eg freshwater sewage and solid waste disposal electricity transporation services) This number of people includes not only the permanent residents of an area but also seasonal and temporary visitors

146 In calculating this value it was capitalized at a real interest rate (ie lsquointerest rate net of inflationrsquo of 3 into perpetuity) 109109109109109109109109109109

FLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

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RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

A

AAAAA BBBBB

Fig 149 A Caribbean spiny lobster (Photo Roberto Sozzani) B queen conch (Photo Caribbean Fishery Manageshyment Council)

served cannot be attributed to recent protection from fishing but are likely a result of the initial biased selection of one of the zone types (Miller et al 2001)

At least one species of seagrass was present at over 80 of the FKNMS stations monitored under the Water Quality Protection Program indicating a coverage of approximately 12800 km2 of seagrass beds within the 17000 km2 study area that lies within and adjacent to the Sanctuary (Fourqurean et al 1999) The primary species of seagrasses within the Sanctuary are turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum) manatee grass (Syringodium filishyforme) shoal grass (Halodule wrightii) and balloon grass (Halophila decipiens)

As with coral communities there is currently no comprehensive data available on algae or sea-grasses from Floridarsquos southeastern coast or Middle Grounds regions

Mobile invertebratesMobile invertebratesMobile invertebratesMobile invertebratesMobile invertebrates ndash Diverse groups of inverteshybrates have been identified in the Florida Keys inshycluding 117 species of sponges (Levy et al 1996) 89 species of polychaete worms (Levy et al 1996) more than 1400 species of mollusks (Mikkelsen and Bieler 2000) 371 species of crustaceans (Levy et al 1996) and 82 species of echinoderms (Hendler et al 1995)

The focus of recent monitoring efforts has been on large mobile invertebrates such as the Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) and queen conch (Fig 149) Both have been moni-tored inside and outside of the Sanctuaryrsquos fully protected zones under the zone monitoring pro-gram The size of spiny lobsters are also being tracked in the Dry Tortugas where National Park designation eliminated this fishery several years ago Since the

closure individual lobsters have grown larger there than in the remainder of the Florida Keys

Legal-sized spiny lobsters continue to be larger and more abundant in fully protected zones than in reference sites of comparable habitat In the sanctshyuary preservation areas (SPAs) they average above legal minimum size At reference sites they remain below legal size (Cox et al 2001) This is particushylarly true in the Western Sambo Ecological Reshyserve where the average size has been significantly larger than in reference areas during both the open and closed fishing seasons (C Cox pers comm Gregory 2001) Catch rates (number of lobsters per trap) are also higher within the Western Sambo Ecological Reserve than within two adjacent fished areas (Gregory 2001)

Queen conch populations have remained low in the last decade despite a ban on commercial and recshyreational fishing since the mid-1980s An intensive monitoring program directed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissionrsquos Florida Marine Research Institute (FWCFMRI) continues to find no significant differences in conch aggregashytion sizes density or abundance between fully protected zones and reference sites in the Sanctuary (Glazer 2001) Attempts to supplement wild popushylations with laboratory-reared stock and experishyments to improve reproductive output are undershyway to address the long-term demise of this species

Additional monitoring and some experimental research are focused on sea urchin populations within the Florida Keys Various scientists specushylate urchins play a critical role in structuring reef

Figure 150 Selected fish species that are numerically dominant or account for much of the biomass on Florida Keys reefs (Photos FKNMS)

106106106106106106106106106106

FLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

A

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

Red

Gra

ysby

Con

ey

Gag

Nas

sau

Sca

mp

Sno

wy

War

saw

Gra

yM

utto

n

Cub

era

Dog

Lan

e

Red

Tom

tate

Mar

gate

Bar

racu

da

Overfishing (30 SPR)

GROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERS SNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERS GRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTS

Bla

ck

Yellow

fin

Yellow

mou

thR

ed h

ind

Roc

k hin

d

Spe

ckle

d h

ind

Yellow

edge

Jew

fish

Hog

fish

Yellow

tail

Sch

oolm

aste

rB

lack

fin

Bla

ck

Silk

Verm

illion

Blu

est

ripe

dW

hit

e

Sai

lorrsquo

s ch

oice

100 just a few species (Bohnsack et 90 al 1999) 80

The numerically dominant fishes70

observed were bluehead wrasse60

50 (Thalassoma bifasciatum) bishy40 color damselfish (Stegastes 30 partitus) tomtate (Haemulon 20 aurolineatum) sergeant major 10 (Abudefduf saxatilis) striped 0 parrotfish (Scarus croicensis)

yellowtail snapper (Ocyurus chysurus) bluestriped grunt (Haemulon sciurus) white grunt

Figure 151 Estimated percent Spawning Potential Ratios (SPR) for 35 species (Haemulon plumieri) maskedof reef fish comprised of groupers snappers grunts hogfish and great

goby (Coryphopterus person-barracuda Black bars indicate stock ldquooverfishingrdquo and blue bars indicate the stock is above the 30 SPR US Federal standard (Modified from Ault et al atus) and French grunt (Haeshy1998)

communities by acting as key herbivores keeping algae in check so adult corals can continue to grow and new corals may recruit to appropriate substrate Reductions in the sea urchin population due to a massive Caribbean-wide die-off in 1983 and relashytively poor recovery of populations since then have been confirmed by two separate teams in the zone monitoring program (Fogarty and Enstrom 2001 Miller et al 2001) Both document very low abunshydances of sea urchins especially the long-spined sea urchin Two research efforts underway in the Sanctuary are exploring viable means of restoring populations of this keystone species to coral reef habitats

FishFishFishFishFish ndash Considerable scientific attention has been

107107107107107107107107107107

paid to fish species of the Florida Keys over the last several decades prior to the designation of the Sanctuary and its fully protected zones Starck (1968) identified 517 fish species from the Florida Keys including over 389 reef fish Addishytional surveys have been conducted since 1979 documenting species composition abundance frequency and size estimates (Bohnsack et al 1999) Between 1979-1998 a total of 263 reef fish taxa representing 54 families were observed (Bohnsack et al 1999) Numerically over half (59) of all fish were from just 10 species (Fig 150) The majority of total fish biomass was comprised of

mulon flavolineatum) Other species accounting for most of

the observed biomass were tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) gray snapper Bermuda chub (Kyphosus sectatrix) stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) smallmouth grunt (Haemulon chrysargyreum) and yellow goatfish (Mulloidichthys martinicus) (Bohnsack et al 1999)

Trends in spatial distribution and differences in populations over time are also noted In most cases relatively few fish of legal harvestable size were seen This is consistent with other studies indicating reef fish are highly exploited Based on federal standards (Ault et al 1998) 13 of 16 species of groupers seven of 13 snappers one

wrasse and two of five grunts are overfished in the Florida Keys (Fig

Figure 152 Gray snapper have benefitted from the fully 151) Non-sustainable fisheries protected zones (Photo FKNMS) practices are likely changing trophic

interactions on reefs with secondary effects such as reduced reproductive capacity (PDT 1990) and shifts in ecosystem structure and function

Despite declines elsewhere in the Sanctuary fish numbers of some economically important species are increasing somewhat in the fully protected zones Analyses of three years of reef fish data show average densities (number of individuals per sample) for the exploited fish species ndash gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus Fig 152) yellowtail

FLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

A

BBBBBAAAAA

CCCC DDDDD

Figure 153 A Map of water quality stations in FKNMS that are clustered according to statistical similarities in water quality parameters B Total phosphus (TP) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 Note significant increases in the Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys Lower Keys and portions of the Middle and Upper Keys C Nitrate (NO

3) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 Increases

occurred in the Southwest Florida Shelf Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys and Lower and Upper Keys D Total organic nitrogen (TON) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 A moderate decrease in TON occurred in some areas in contrast to increases in TP and NO

3 (Source Jones and Boyer 2001)

snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus) and grouper (several economically important species were combined) ndash are higher in the SPAs than in fished reference sites (Bohnsack et al 2001) Complementing this data is a trend in increasing average abundance of three species of snapper (gray snapper schoolmaster and yellowtail snapper) at sites monitored by Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) volunteers before and after designation of the fully protected zones (Pattengill-Semmens 2001)

Water QualityWater QualityWater QualityWater QualityWater Quality ndash Reduced salinity agricultural and industrial chemical contamination turbidity and high nutrients possibly from sewage upshywelling or groundwater have all impacted water quality to some degree in Southeast Florida Florida Bay and the Florida Keys Ocean outfalls along the coast introduce millions of gallons of secondary sewage to coastal waters adding nutrishyents Eutrophication of nearshore waters (a result of excess nutrients) is a documented problem in the Keys Given these anthropogenic impacts and the importance of also fully understanding natural variability long-term water quality monitoring is

critical for the entire South Florida region Water quality has been monitored at fixed stations in the FKNMS since 1995 as part of the Water Quality Protection Program (FKNMS WQPP 2002) Results to date indicate dissolved oxygen total organic nitrogen and total organic carbon are higher in surface waters while salinity turbidity nitrite nitrate ammonium and total phosphorus are higher in bottom waters Geographical differshyences include higher nutrient concentrations in the Middle and Lower Keys than in the Upper Keys and Dry Tortugas regions Generally declining inshore to offshore trends along transects across Hawk Channel have been noted for nitrate ammoshynium silicate total organic carbon and nitrogen and turbidity (Jones and Boyer 2001)

Stations along passes between the Keys had higher nutrient concentrations phytoplankton biomass and turbidity than stations located off the Keys Although these differences were small the two shore types support different benthic communities which may reflect long-term effects of water quality on community composition Using a

108108108108108108108108108108

C

FLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

A

multivariate statistical approach these stations were regrouped according to water quality This resulted in seven clusters of stations with different water quality characteristics (Fig 153) giving a functional zonation of Sanctuary water quality

Probably the most interesting results are temporal trends in concentrations of total phosphorus nitrate and total organic nitrogen for much of the Sanctuary There have been significant increases in total phosphorus for the Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys Lower Keys and portions of the Middle and Upper Keys No trend in total phosphorus has been observed in Florida Bay or in areas of the Sanctushyary most influenced by transport of Bay waters and there was no concurrent increase in the concenshytration of chlorophyll a a measure of phytoshyplankton in the water column There were large increases in nitrates which appeared to be seashysonal Most of the increases occurred in the Southshywest Florida Shelf Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys and the Lower and Upper Keys By contrast total organic nitrogen decreased modestly at many sites Most of the decreases occurred in the Southwest Florida Shelf the Sluiceway and the Lower and Upper Keys It is possible that these trends are driven by regional circulation patterns arising from the Loop and Florida Currents

Coastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef Economics

Much of South Florida is urban and its resident population continues to expand A total of 509 million people resided in the four-county area of South Florida (Miami-Dade Broward Palm Beach and Monroe Counties) in 2000 an increase of 231 in the past 10 years (US Bureau of the Census 2002) Of this total 225 million live in Miami-Dade 80000 live in Monroe (Florida

Figure 154 Visitors and residents at a South Florida beach (Photo NOS Photo Gallery)

Keys) 113 million in Palm Beach and 162 milshylion in Broward counties

Due to its climate and natural resources South Florida draws millions of seasonal and temporary visitors (Fig 154) Miami-Dade County receives a daily summer average of 240000 seasonal and temporary visitors and a daily winter average of 308000 visitors Each day Broward County receives between 140000-320000 visitors deshypending on the season Palm Beach County reshyceives 73000-183000 visitors and Monroe County receives 30000-36000 visitors (Johns et al 2001) Including these visitors gives Miami-Dade Broward Palm Beach and Monroe Counshyties a functional population145 of 249-256 million 176-194 million 12-13 million and 110000shy116000 respectively

Johns et al (2001) estimated market economic contributions and non-market economic user values for recreational use of artificial and natural reefs In the four-county South Florida region residents and visitors spent 182 million person-days fishing diving and viewing natural coral reefs from glass-bottom boats yielding an annual non-market economic use value estimate of nearly $228

million This annual value146 yields an Table 15 Recreation and tourism on natural reefs in Southeast Florida estimate of the asset value of the naturalTotals for these economic values are likely to be underestimated because the data do not include inter-regional flows (Source Johns et al 2001) reefs at $76 billion Additional informashy

tion on the economic impact of tourism has been summarized in Table 15

In addition to supporting tourism in the region coral reefs play an important role in maintaining Floridarsquos commercial and recreational fisheries In 2000 Monroe

145 Functional populations include the number of people in a given area on a given day which demand local services (eg freshwater sewage and solid waste disposal electricity transporation services) This number of people includes not only the permanent residents of an area but also seasonal and temporary visitors

146 In calculating this value it was capitalized at a real interest rate (ie lsquointerest rate net of inflationrsquo of 3 into perpetuity) 109109109109109109109109109109

FLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

A

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

SPA

WNIN

G P

OTENTIA

L RATIO

()

Red

Gra

ysby

Con

ey

Gag

Nas

sau

Sca

mp

Sno

wy

War

saw

Gra

yM

utto

n

Cub

era

Dog

Lan

e

Red

Tom

tate

Mar

gate

Bar

racu

da

Overfishing (30 SPR)

GROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERSGROUPERS SNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERSSNAPPERS GRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTSGRUNTS

Bla

ck

Yellow

fin

Yellow

mou

thR

ed h

ind

Roc

k hin

d

Spe

ckle

d h

ind

Yellow

edge

Jew

fish

Hog

fish

Yellow

tail

Sch

oolm

aste

rB

lack

fin

Bla

ck

Silk

Verm

illion

Blu

est

ripe

dW

hit

e

Sai

lorrsquo

s ch

oice

100 just a few species (Bohnsack et 90 al 1999) 80

The numerically dominant fishes70

observed were bluehead wrasse60

50 (Thalassoma bifasciatum) bishy40 color damselfish (Stegastes 30 partitus) tomtate (Haemulon 20 aurolineatum) sergeant major 10 (Abudefduf saxatilis) striped 0 parrotfish (Scarus croicensis)

yellowtail snapper (Ocyurus chysurus) bluestriped grunt (Haemulon sciurus) white grunt

Figure 151 Estimated percent Spawning Potential Ratios (SPR) for 35 species (Haemulon plumieri) maskedof reef fish comprised of groupers snappers grunts hogfish and great

goby (Coryphopterus person-barracuda Black bars indicate stock ldquooverfishingrdquo and blue bars indicate the stock is above the 30 SPR US Federal standard (Modified from Ault et al atus) and French grunt (Haeshy1998)

communities by acting as key herbivores keeping algae in check so adult corals can continue to grow and new corals may recruit to appropriate substrate Reductions in the sea urchin population due to a massive Caribbean-wide die-off in 1983 and relashytively poor recovery of populations since then have been confirmed by two separate teams in the zone monitoring program (Fogarty and Enstrom 2001 Miller et al 2001) Both document very low abunshydances of sea urchins especially the long-spined sea urchin Two research efforts underway in the Sanctuary are exploring viable means of restoring populations of this keystone species to coral reef habitats

FishFishFishFishFish ndash Considerable scientific attention has been

107107107107107107107107107107

paid to fish species of the Florida Keys over the last several decades prior to the designation of the Sanctuary and its fully protected zones Starck (1968) identified 517 fish species from the Florida Keys including over 389 reef fish Addishytional surveys have been conducted since 1979 documenting species composition abundance frequency and size estimates (Bohnsack et al 1999) Between 1979-1998 a total of 263 reef fish taxa representing 54 families were observed (Bohnsack et al 1999) Numerically over half (59) of all fish were from just 10 species (Fig 150) The majority of total fish biomass was comprised of

mulon flavolineatum) Other species accounting for most of

the observed biomass were tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) gray snapper Bermuda chub (Kyphosus sectatrix) stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) smallmouth grunt (Haemulon chrysargyreum) and yellow goatfish (Mulloidichthys martinicus) (Bohnsack et al 1999)

Trends in spatial distribution and differences in populations over time are also noted In most cases relatively few fish of legal harvestable size were seen This is consistent with other studies indicating reef fish are highly exploited Based on federal standards (Ault et al 1998) 13 of 16 species of groupers seven of 13 snappers one

wrasse and two of five grunts are overfished in the Florida Keys (Fig

Figure 152 Gray snapper have benefitted from the fully 151) Non-sustainable fisheries protected zones (Photo FKNMS) practices are likely changing trophic

interactions on reefs with secondary effects such as reduced reproductive capacity (PDT 1990) and shifts in ecosystem structure and function

Despite declines elsewhere in the Sanctuary fish numbers of some economically important species are increasing somewhat in the fully protected zones Analyses of three years of reef fish data show average densities (number of individuals per sample) for the exploited fish species ndash gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus Fig 152) yellowtail

FLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

A

BBBBBAAAAA

CCCC DDDDD

Figure 153 A Map of water quality stations in FKNMS that are clustered according to statistical similarities in water quality parameters B Total phosphus (TP) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 Note significant increases in the Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys Lower Keys and portions of the Middle and Upper Keys C Nitrate (NO

3) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 Increases

occurred in the Southwest Florida Shelf Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys and Lower and Upper Keys D Total organic nitrogen (TON) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 A moderate decrease in TON occurred in some areas in contrast to increases in TP and NO

3 (Source Jones and Boyer 2001)

snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus) and grouper (several economically important species were combined) ndash are higher in the SPAs than in fished reference sites (Bohnsack et al 2001) Complementing this data is a trend in increasing average abundance of three species of snapper (gray snapper schoolmaster and yellowtail snapper) at sites monitored by Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) volunteers before and after designation of the fully protected zones (Pattengill-Semmens 2001)

Water QualityWater QualityWater QualityWater QualityWater Quality ndash Reduced salinity agricultural and industrial chemical contamination turbidity and high nutrients possibly from sewage upshywelling or groundwater have all impacted water quality to some degree in Southeast Florida Florida Bay and the Florida Keys Ocean outfalls along the coast introduce millions of gallons of secondary sewage to coastal waters adding nutrishyents Eutrophication of nearshore waters (a result of excess nutrients) is a documented problem in the Keys Given these anthropogenic impacts and the importance of also fully understanding natural variability long-term water quality monitoring is

critical for the entire South Florida region Water quality has been monitored at fixed stations in the FKNMS since 1995 as part of the Water Quality Protection Program (FKNMS WQPP 2002) Results to date indicate dissolved oxygen total organic nitrogen and total organic carbon are higher in surface waters while salinity turbidity nitrite nitrate ammonium and total phosphorus are higher in bottom waters Geographical differshyences include higher nutrient concentrations in the Middle and Lower Keys than in the Upper Keys and Dry Tortugas regions Generally declining inshore to offshore trends along transects across Hawk Channel have been noted for nitrate ammoshynium silicate total organic carbon and nitrogen and turbidity (Jones and Boyer 2001)

Stations along passes between the Keys had higher nutrient concentrations phytoplankton biomass and turbidity than stations located off the Keys Although these differences were small the two shore types support different benthic communities which may reflect long-term effects of water quality on community composition Using a

108108108108108108108108108108

C

FLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

AFLO

RID

A

multivariate statistical approach these stations were regrouped according to water quality This resulted in seven clusters of stations with different water quality characteristics (Fig 153) giving a functional zonation of Sanctuary water quality

Probably the most interesting results are temporal trends in concentrations of total phosphorus nitrate and total organic nitrogen for much of the Sanctuary There have been significant increases in total phosphorus for the Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys Lower Keys and portions of the Middle and Upper Keys No trend in total phosphorus has been observed in Florida Bay or in areas of the Sanctushyary most influenced by transport of Bay waters and there was no concurrent increase in the concenshytration of chlorophyll a a measure of phytoshyplankton in the water column There were large increases in nitrates which appeared to be seashysonal Most of the increases occurred in the Southshywest Florida Shelf Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys and the Lower and Upper Keys By contrast total organic nitrogen decreased modestly at many sites Most of the decreases occurred in the Southwest Florida Shelf the Sluiceway and the Lower and Upper Keys It is possible that these trends are driven by regional circulation patterns arising from the Loop and Florida Currents

Coastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef Economics

Much of South Florida is urban and its resident population continues to expand A total of 509 million people resided in the four-county area of South Florida (Miami-Dade Broward Palm Beach and Monroe Counties) in 2000 an increase of 231 in the past 10 years (US Bureau of the Census 2002) Of this total 225 million live in Miami-Dade 80000 live in Monroe (Florida

Figure 154 Visitors and residents at a South Florida beach (Photo NOS Photo Gallery)

Keys) 113 million in Palm Beach and 162 milshylion in Broward counties

Due to its climate and natural resources South Florida draws millions of seasonal and temporary visitors (Fig 154) Miami-Dade County receives a daily summer average of 240000 seasonal and temporary visitors and a daily winter average of 308000 visitors Each day Broward County receives between 140000-320000 visitors deshypending on the season Palm Beach County reshyceives 73000-183000 visitors and Monroe County receives 30000-36000 visitors (Johns et al 2001) Including these visitors gives Miami-Dade Broward Palm Beach and Monroe Counshyties a functional population145 of 249-256 million 176-194 million 12-13 million and 110000shy116000 respectively

Johns et al (2001) estimated market economic contributions and non-market economic user values for recreational use of artificial and natural reefs In the four-county South Florida region residents and visitors spent 182 million person-days fishing diving and viewing natural coral reefs from glass-bottom boats yielding an annual non-market economic use value estimate of nearly $228

million This annual value146 yields an Table 15 Recreation and tourism on natural reefs in Southeast Florida estimate of the asset value of the naturalTotals for these economic values are likely to be underestimated because the data do not include inter-regional flows (Source Johns et al 2001) reefs at $76 billion Additional informashy

tion on the economic impact of tourism has been summarized in Table 15

In addition to supporting tourism in the region coral reefs play an important role in maintaining Floridarsquos commercial and recreational fisheries In 2000 Monroe

145 Functional populations include the number of people in a given area on a given day which demand local services (eg freshwater sewage and solid waste disposal electricity transporation services) This number of people includes not only the permanent residents of an area but also seasonal and temporary visitors

146 In calculating this value it was capitalized at a real interest rate (ie lsquointerest rate net of inflationrsquo of 3 into perpetuity) 109109109109109109109109109109

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BBBBBAAAAA

CCCC DDDDD

Figure 153 A Map of water quality stations in FKNMS that are clustered according to statistical similarities in water quality parameters B Total phosphus (TP) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 Note significant increases in the Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys Lower Keys and portions of the Middle and Upper Keys C Nitrate (NO

3) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 Increases

occurred in the Southwest Florida Shelf Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys and Lower and Upper Keys D Total organic nitrogen (TON) trends in FKNMS 1995-2000 A moderate decrease in TON occurred in some areas in contrast to increases in TP and NO

3 (Source Jones and Boyer 2001)

snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus) and grouper (several economically important species were combined) ndash are higher in the SPAs than in fished reference sites (Bohnsack et al 2001) Complementing this data is a trend in increasing average abundance of three species of snapper (gray snapper schoolmaster and yellowtail snapper) at sites monitored by Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) volunteers before and after designation of the fully protected zones (Pattengill-Semmens 2001)

Water QualityWater QualityWater QualityWater QualityWater Quality ndash Reduced salinity agricultural and industrial chemical contamination turbidity and high nutrients possibly from sewage upshywelling or groundwater have all impacted water quality to some degree in Southeast Florida Florida Bay and the Florida Keys Ocean outfalls along the coast introduce millions of gallons of secondary sewage to coastal waters adding nutrishyents Eutrophication of nearshore waters (a result of excess nutrients) is a documented problem in the Keys Given these anthropogenic impacts and the importance of also fully understanding natural variability long-term water quality monitoring is

critical for the entire South Florida region Water quality has been monitored at fixed stations in the FKNMS since 1995 as part of the Water Quality Protection Program (FKNMS WQPP 2002) Results to date indicate dissolved oxygen total organic nitrogen and total organic carbon are higher in surface waters while salinity turbidity nitrite nitrate ammonium and total phosphorus are higher in bottom waters Geographical differshyences include higher nutrient concentrations in the Middle and Lower Keys than in the Upper Keys and Dry Tortugas regions Generally declining inshore to offshore trends along transects across Hawk Channel have been noted for nitrate ammoshynium silicate total organic carbon and nitrogen and turbidity (Jones and Boyer 2001)

Stations along passes between the Keys had higher nutrient concentrations phytoplankton biomass and turbidity than stations located off the Keys Although these differences were small the two shore types support different benthic communities which may reflect long-term effects of water quality on community composition Using a

108108108108108108108108108108

C

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multivariate statistical approach these stations were regrouped according to water quality This resulted in seven clusters of stations with different water quality characteristics (Fig 153) giving a functional zonation of Sanctuary water quality

Probably the most interesting results are temporal trends in concentrations of total phosphorus nitrate and total organic nitrogen for much of the Sanctuary There have been significant increases in total phosphorus for the Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys Lower Keys and portions of the Middle and Upper Keys No trend in total phosphorus has been observed in Florida Bay or in areas of the Sanctushyary most influenced by transport of Bay waters and there was no concurrent increase in the concenshytration of chlorophyll a a measure of phytoshyplankton in the water column There were large increases in nitrates which appeared to be seashysonal Most of the increases occurred in the Southshywest Florida Shelf Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys and the Lower and Upper Keys By contrast total organic nitrogen decreased modestly at many sites Most of the decreases occurred in the Southwest Florida Shelf the Sluiceway and the Lower and Upper Keys It is possible that these trends are driven by regional circulation patterns arising from the Loop and Florida Currents

Coastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef Economics

Much of South Florida is urban and its resident population continues to expand A total of 509 million people resided in the four-county area of South Florida (Miami-Dade Broward Palm Beach and Monroe Counties) in 2000 an increase of 231 in the past 10 years (US Bureau of the Census 2002) Of this total 225 million live in Miami-Dade 80000 live in Monroe (Florida

Figure 154 Visitors and residents at a South Florida beach (Photo NOS Photo Gallery)

Keys) 113 million in Palm Beach and 162 milshylion in Broward counties

Due to its climate and natural resources South Florida draws millions of seasonal and temporary visitors (Fig 154) Miami-Dade County receives a daily summer average of 240000 seasonal and temporary visitors and a daily winter average of 308000 visitors Each day Broward County receives between 140000-320000 visitors deshypending on the season Palm Beach County reshyceives 73000-183000 visitors and Monroe County receives 30000-36000 visitors (Johns et al 2001) Including these visitors gives Miami-Dade Broward Palm Beach and Monroe Counshyties a functional population145 of 249-256 million 176-194 million 12-13 million and 110000shy116000 respectively

Johns et al (2001) estimated market economic contributions and non-market economic user values for recreational use of artificial and natural reefs In the four-county South Florida region residents and visitors spent 182 million person-days fishing diving and viewing natural coral reefs from glass-bottom boats yielding an annual non-market economic use value estimate of nearly $228

million This annual value146 yields an Table 15 Recreation and tourism on natural reefs in Southeast Florida estimate of the asset value of the naturalTotals for these economic values are likely to be underestimated because the data do not include inter-regional flows (Source Johns et al 2001) reefs at $76 billion Additional informashy

tion on the economic impact of tourism has been summarized in Table 15

In addition to supporting tourism in the region coral reefs play an important role in maintaining Floridarsquos commercial and recreational fisheries In 2000 Monroe

145 Functional populations include the number of people in a given area on a given day which demand local services (eg freshwater sewage and solid waste disposal electricity transporation services) This number of people includes not only the permanent residents of an area but also seasonal and temporary visitors

146 In calculating this value it was capitalized at a real interest rate (ie lsquointerest rate net of inflationrsquo of 3 into perpetuity) 109109109109109109109109109109

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multivariate statistical approach these stations were regrouped according to water quality This resulted in seven clusters of stations with different water quality characteristics (Fig 153) giving a functional zonation of Sanctuary water quality

Probably the most interesting results are temporal trends in concentrations of total phosphorus nitrate and total organic nitrogen for much of the Sanctuary There have been significant increases in total phosphorus for the Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys Lower Keys and portions of the Middle and Upper Keys No trend in total phosphorus has been observed in Florida Bay or in areas of the Sanctushyary most influenced by transport of Bay waters and there was no concurrent increase in the concenshytration of chlorophyll a a measure of phytoshyplankton in the water column There were large increases in nitrates which appeared to be seashysonal Most of the increases occurred in the Southshywest Florida Shelf Dry Tortugas Marquesas Keys and the Lower and Upper Keys By contrast total organic nitrogen decreased modestly at many sites Most of the decreases occurred in the Southwest Florida Shelf the Sluiceway and the Lower and Upper Keys It is possible that these trends are driven by regional circulation patterns arising from the Loop and Florida Currents

Coastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef EconomicsCoastal Populations and Reef Economics

Much of South Florida is urban and its resident population continues to expand A total of 509 million people resided in the four-county area of South Florida (Miami-Dade Broward Palm Beach and Monroe Counties) in 2000 an increase of 231 in the past 10 years (US Bureau of the Census 2002) Of this total 225 million live in Miami-Dade 80000 live in Monroe (Florida

Figure 154 Visitors and residents at a South Florida beach (Photo NOS Photo Gallery)

Keys) 113 million in Palm Beach and 162 milshylion in Broward counties

Due to its climate and natural resources South Florida draws millions of seasonal and temporary visitors (Fig 154) Miami-Dade County receives a daily summer average of 240000 seasonal and temporary visitors and a daily winter average of 308000 visitors Each day Broward County receives between 140000-320000 visitors deshypending on the season Palm Beach County reshyceives 73000-183000 visitors and Monroe County receives 30000-36000 visitors (Johns et al 2001) Including these visitors gives Miami-Dade Broward Palm Beach and Monroe Counshyties a functional population145 of 249-256 million 176-194 million 12-13 million and 110000shy116000 respectively

Johns et al (2001) estimated market economic contributions and non-market economic user values for recreational use of artificial and natural reefs In the four-county South Florida region residents and visitors spent 182 million person-days fishing diving and viewing natural coral reefs from glass-bottom boats yielding an annual non-market economic use value estimate of nearly $228

million This annual value146 yields an Table 15 Recreation and tourism on natural reefs in Southeast Florida estimate of the asset value of the naturalTotals for these economic values are likely to be underestimated because the data do not include inter-regional flows (Source Johns et al 2001) reefs at $76 billion Additional informashy

tion on the economic impact of tourism has been summarized in Table 15

In addition to supporting tourism in the region coral reefs play an important role in maintaining Floridarsquos commercial and recreational fisheries In 2000 Monroe

145 Functional populations include the number of people in a given area on a given day which demand local services (eg freshwater sewage and solid waste disposal electricity transporation services) This number of people includes not only the permanent residents of an area but also seasonal and temporary visitors

146 In calculating this value it was capitalized at a real interest rate (ie lsquointerest rate net of inflationrsquo of 3 into perpetuity) 109109109109109109109109109109

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Figure 155 Approximately 900000 people dive or snorkel in the Florida Keys each year (Photo Paige Gill)

County commercial fishermen earned $532 million in ex-vessel revenues (FWCC 2000) Since 40-60 of the commercial catch in this county is related to coral reefs it can be estimated that the reef-related catch was worth $22-32 million Subsequently this generated $35-52 million in local salesoutput $22shy33 million in income and 1550-2300 jobs (R Leeworthy pers comm)

Recreational fisheries on natural reefs generated $171 million in outputsales $44 million in inshycome and over 3100 jobs These totals are inclushyded in Table 15 In 2000-2001 commercial and recreational fisheries dependent on the natural reefs of the Florida Keys alone generated $206-223 million in outputsales $66-77 million in income and supported 4650-5400 jobs in Monroe County

Environmental Pressures on Coral ReefsEnvironmental Pressures on Coral ReefsEnvironmental Pressures on Coral ReefsEnvironmental Pressures on Coral ReefsEnvironmental Pressures on Coral Reefs

Human StressesHuman StressesHuman StressesHuman StressesHuman Stresses ndash Humans can inadvertently alter physical characteristics of the reef environment further stressing an ecosystem already combatting the broader stresses of natural variability and global climate change Impact from human activishyties is likely greater in the Keys and along the southeastern coast than in the Middle Grounds Due to its offshore location the Middle Grounds has been somewhat protected particularly from pollutants

In the Florida Keys the greatest immediate pressure is from the three million annual visitors (Leeworthy and Vanasse 1999) and the 80000 year-round residents The population of Monroe County has grown 160 during the past 40 years a 50000 resident increase Visits to the Florida Keys increased by 15 in the two-year period from 1995-96 to 1997-98 and averages 46500shy

58700 visitors on any given day during the winter tourist season (Leeworthy and Vanasse 1999) In 1995-1996 over 65 of visitors to the Florida Keys participated in water-based activities 31 of which were snorkeling and SCUBA diving (Leeshyworthy and Wiley 1996 Fig 155) Since 1965 the number of registered private vessels has increased over six-fold (DoC 1996 Fig 146)

Damage by humans to hundreds of square kilomeshyters of reef seagrass and related habitat over the last 30 years has been documented for some time in the Florida Keys Boat groundings on coral sea-grasses and hardbottom areas propeller scarring of seagrass accumulation of debris breaking and damaging corals with ship anchors using destrucshytive fishing methods and divers and snorkelers standing on corals have all been documented in various places

Boat propellers have permanently damaged over 121 km2 of seagrasses Over 650 small boat groundings were reported in the Sanctuary in 2000 alone with 158 of these affecting seagrass and 22 impacting coral reef habitats Large ships have been responsible for damaging or destroying over 80000 m2 of coral reef habitat in the Sanctuary

Wastewater and stormwater treatment and solid waste disposal facilities in the Keys are highly inadequate having a direct impact on water quality However some solutions to water quality problems are being implemented One of the larger ocean outfalls off Key West that delivered approximately seven million gallons a day to the sea was recently replaced with a deep-well injection system (more than 914 m deep and below a containment layer) for treated effluent Before injection the effluent is

Figure 157 Currently there are over 106000 boats registered in south Florida (Photo FKNMS)

110110110110110110110110110110

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treated according to USEPA Advanced Wastewater Treatment standards

Another indirect impact is altered freshwater flow into coastal waters The South Florida Water Manshyagement District has responsibility for managing the flow and release of freshwater to the ocean through an extensive system of canals and locks In Florida Bay reduced freshwater flow from water management practices in South Florida has been associated with increased plankton blooms (eutroshyphication) sponge and seagrass die-offs and fish kills Since Florida Bay and nearshore waters provide critical nursery and juvenile habitat for a variety of reef species the declines seen in these areas indirectly affect the overall health and structure of offshore coral reefs in the Florida Keys In addition to control flooding millions of gallons of fresh water have periodically been released into the canals and near-shore waters of South Florida creating problems for marine communities

The highly urbanized coastal region along Floridarsquos southeastern coast puts its coral reefs under varied and chronic stress During good weather both recreational and commercial boating and fishing are very heavy on these reefs The nearby Miami Port Everglades and Palm Beach ports handle cruise and container ships oil tankers and military vessels In the past ten years a number of moderate to severe large vessel groundings in Southeastern Florida have damaged the reef system (Fig 157) Signs of anchor damage are also routinely seen Four other large-vessel groundings have impacted areas of nearby Biscayne National Park

Serial overfishing (Ault et al 1998) throughout South Florida has dramatically altered reef fish and other animal populations contributing to an imshybalance in relationships critical to sustaining coral reef diversity In Biscayne National Park 26 of 34 fish species or 77 of the fish stocks that were examined were overfished (Ault et al 2001) In addition certain types of fishing gear negatively impact reefs in Southeastern Florida

Reef tracts off Boca Raton and Sunny Isles have been destroyed by dredging for beach renourishshyment channel deepening and channel mainteshynance Chronic turbidity and silt deposition from dredging and similar activities impact water quality indirectly affecting the reefs These activishyties smother sessile invertebrates resulting in

Figure 157 The MV Firat grounded offshore of Fort Lauderdale Florida (Photo Greg McIntosh)

barren areas Fiber optic cables were deployed across reefs in some areas causing abrasion and detachment of corals and sponges (Jaap 2000)

Introduced competitive species add additional stress Within the past decade several alien species have been identified on Florida Keys reefs At least eight species of marine mollusks have been introshyduced into South Florida and are expanding their range Non-native marine crustaceans are equally diverse and include six crab species five shrimp species three barnacles four isopods and one tanaid Most of these species are foreign to North American waters and were introduced through ship hull fouling or ballast water dumping (USGS 2002)

The majority of Floridarsquos marine fish introductions have come from released aquarium fish with occasional reports from divers of various exotic species living among native reef fish For example the Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans) has been sighted on South Florida reefs (Courtney 1995) Another popular aquarium fish the Pacific batfish (Platax orbicularus) was observed off the Upper Keys two specimens were removed and delivered to the New England Aquarium (B Keller pers comm)

Natural VariabilityNatural VariabilityNatural VariabilityNatural VariabilityNatural Variability ndash In addition to the myriad of human impacts affecting coral reef health in Florida natural environmental variability affects these habitats Principal natural environmental

111111111111111111111111111111

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Figure 158 Several hurricanes have recently hit Florida impacting its reefs (Photo South Florida Water Management District)

impacts include hurricanes (Fig 158) severe storms winter cold fronts cold-water upwelling and ground water effects Under normal conditions corals and associated reef organisms tolerate a certain level of environmental stress and recover or acclimatize to sporadic events such as temperature variation or storms The added human impacts and stresses may be prolonging the time needed as well as the ability of these organisms and systems to recover from large-scale climate fluctuations and other global changes

Current Conservation ManagementCurrent Conservation ManagementCurrent Conservation ManagementCurrent Conservation ManagementCurrent Conservation Management

MappingMappingMappingMappingMapping ndash Only about 50 of Floridarsquos coral reef and associated benthic habitats have been mapped As a result reliable estimates of the percentage of coral reef and related habitats as well as the area protected by no-take provisions cannot be accurately computed state-wide

Mapping efforts were undertaken in the Sanctuary in the 1990s FWCFMRI and NOAA published digital benthic habitat maps for the Florida Keys in 1998 (FMRINOAA 1998 Fig 159) Recently the Dry Tortugas region was characterized (Schmidt et al1999) Also Agassiz (1882) produced a remarkshyable baseline map of Dry Tortugas benthic habitats which suggest a 04 km2 loss of elkhorn coral in a 100-year period (Davis 1982) Mapping gaps exist for deeper regions of the Tortugas

The reefs along the Southeastern Florida coast are not as well studied In 1999 Nova Southeastern Universityrsquos National Coral Reef Institute (NSU NCRI) and the Broward County Department of Planning and Environmental Protection initiated

mapping of Broward County reefs At this time there is no comparable mapshyping program in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade Counties

Improved mapping has resulted from aerial photos of near-shore areas and laser-based bathymetry of the three reef tracts off Southeastern Florida for specific projects For example detailed LADS (laser depth sounding) bathymshyetry is complete for all of Broward County offshore to 36 m A smaller amount of the area is also mapped with multibeam bathymetry and side-scan sonar

Estimates of benthic cover are available from some monitoring programs There is a general reef distrishybution map in Jaap and Hallock (1990)

No mapping of the Florida Middle Grounds has been conducted to date

Monitoring Assessments and ResearchMonitoring Assessments and ResearchMonitoring Assessments and ResearchMonitoring Assessments and ResearchMonitoring Assessments and Research ndash In the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary a comprehensive research and monitoring program has been implemented to establish baseline inforshymation on the various components of the ecosysshytem and help ascertain possible causes and effects of changes This way research and monitoring can ensure the effective implementation of manageshyment strategies using the best available scientific information

Research and monitoring are conducted by many groups including Local State and Federal agenshycies public and private universities private re-

Figure 159 A portion of the benthic habitat map of the Florida Keys (Map FMRINOAA)

Bare Substrate Continuous Seagrass Hardbottom Inland Water Patch Reef Patchy Seagrass Platform Margin Unknown Bottom Land

LegendLegendLegendLegendLegend

112112112112112112112112112112

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search foundations environmental organizations and independent researchers The Sanctuary facilishytates and coordinates research by registering researchers through a permitting system recruiting institutions for priority research activities overseeshying data management and disseminating findings to the scientific community and the public

The Water Quality Protection Program (WQPP) funded by the USEPA and recently NOAA is the most comprehensive long-term monitoring proshygram in the Florida Keys Begun in 1994 it monishytors three components water quality seagrasses and coralshardbottom communities Reef fishes spiny lobster queen conch and benthic cover are also monitored throughout the Sanctuary

Water quality has been monitored at 154 fixed stations since 1995 Water samples are collected for measuring salinity temperature dissolved oxygen turbidity relative fluorescence and light attenuashytion Water chemistry includes nitrate nitrite ammonium dissolved inorganic nitrogen and soluble reactive phosphate Concentrations of total organic nitrogen total organic carbon total phosshyphorus and silicate are also measured along with chlorophyll a and alkaline phosphatase activity (Jones and Boyer 2001)

Seagrass monitoring under the WQPP identifies the distribution and abundance of seagrasses within the Sanctuary and tracks changes over time Quarterly monitoring is conducted at 30 fixed stations and annual monitoring occurs at 206 to 336 randomly-selected sites (Fourqurean et al 2001 WQPP 2002) Permanent stations are co-located at 30 of the water quality monitoring sites to help discern relationships between seagrass health and water quality This long-term monitoring is also invalushyable for determining human impacts on the Sanctshyuaryrsquos seagrass communities

The Coral ReefHardbottom Monitoring Project (CRMP 2002) tracks the status and trends of coral and hardbottom communities throughout the Sanctshyuary (Jaap et al 2001 Fig 160) The projectrsquos 43 permanent sites include hardbottom patch reef shallow offshore reef and deep offshore reef comshymunities Biodiversity coral condition and coral cover are recorded annually at four stations within each site for a total of 172 stations

In addition to the WQPP a Zone Monitoring Program monitors the 24 discrete marine reserves

located within the Sanctuary Implemented in 1997 the goal of the program is to determine whether these fully protected zones effectively protect marine biodiversity and enhance human values related to the Sanctuary Parameters measured include the abundance and size of fish inverteshybrates and algae as well as economic and aesthetic values of the Sanctuary and compliance with regulations This program monitors changes in ecosystem structure (size and number of inverteshybrates fish corals and other organisms) and function (coral recruitment herbivory predation) Human uses of zoned areas are also tracked

Figure 160 Photo-monitoring of corals within the FKNMS (Photo Mike White)

Lastly continuous monitoring of certain physical parameters of seawater and ocean condition is recorded by instruments (C-MAN stations) installed along the Florida Reef Tract as part of the SEAKEYS program (SEAKEYS 2002) There are six C-MAN stations from Fowey Rocks to the Dry Tortugas and one in Florida Bay These stations gather data and periodically transmit it to satellites where it is converted to near real-time reports available on the Internet For the past ten years the Sanctuary has maintained a network of 27 thermographs that record water temperature every two hours located both inshore and offshore throughout the Keys

As baselines are being documented Sanctuary managers are developing a comprehensive science plan outlining specific management objectives and their associated monitoring and research needs This is an evolving adaptive management apshyproach to help ensure management decisions are supported by the best available science The science plan will identify high-priority research and monitoring projects to help fill gaps in understandshy

113113113113113113113113113113

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Figure 161 Coral reef monitoring along Floridarsquos southeastshyern coast (Photo NCRI)

ing the ecosystem and its responses to management actions

Recognizing the importance of an ecosystem approach to management the Sanctuary engages agencies working on the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan to achieve appropriate restoration goals for the entire ecosystem including coral reefs and seagrasses Active monitorshying of natural resources is a Sanctuary priority so that changes occurring as a result of water management regimes and restoration can be detected

Along Floridarsquos southeastshyern coast much of the present monitoring origishynated as impact and mitigation studies for projects that had adverse impacts to specific sites (dredging ship groundings pipeline and cable deployments and beach renourishment) In the past such studies have been of limited duration (one to three years) and the focus has been largely on beach renourishshyment restoration for grounding impacts and some baseline data collection from reference areas

Monitoring has begun in Broward County at 23 fixed 30-m2 sites for environmental conditions (sedimentation quantities and rates water quality and temperature) and coral sponge and fish abunshydance andor cover (Fig 161) There have been a number of discrete fish surveys on the reefs of Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties most of which have been associated with beach renourishshyment projects or artificial reef management

(Lindeman and Snyder 1999 Light 2001 C Avila pers comm)

However there is a concerted effort of NSUNCRI scientists to complete a baseline survey of reef fishes off Broward County (Ettinger et al 2001 Harttung et al 2001) Initiated in 1998 this NOAA-funded survey is recording fishes on the edges and crests of the three major reef lines At this time more than 600 point-counts have been completed and the full survey will be completed by mid-2002 In addition during summer 2001 NSUNCRI scientists inventoried fish on the first 30 m of the inshore reef at 158-m intervals for 25 km of shoreline using multiple visual techniques (point-count 30 m transects and 20 min random swim) (Baron et al 2001) Broward County now has a database comprised of more than 1000 visual censuses from the shore to 30 m for reef fish

Researchers at NSUNCRI are also currently involved in a multivariate hypothesis-driven study that looks at the interacshytion of fish transplanted corals coral recruits and potential coral attractants or optimal substrates (Fig 162) Research variables include four potenshytially different fish assemshyblages (determined by reef complexity) and biofilm and coral recruitment on settlement plates of made of concrete concrete and iron concrete and

quarry rock or concrete and coral transplants Results of this three-year study should yield information critical to reef restoration

The Florida Middle Grounds do not have any onshygoing formal monitoring programs at this time Overall the development of a comprehensive monitoring program for the reefs of southeastern Florida and the Florida Middle Grounds would provide a better understanding of current condishytions for fish and corals in these regions and would promote more effective management

MPAs and Fully Protected ReservesMPAs and Fully Protected ReservesMPAs and Fully Protected ReservesMPAs and Fully Protected ReservesMPAs and Fully Protected Reserves ndash As with monitoring assessment and research programs coral reef conservation and management through the designation and implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs) varies widely The largest and best-known MPA in Florida the Florida Keys

Figure 162 Detail of an artificial reef that is being used by NCRI to study reef restoration techniques (Photo NCRI)

114114114114114114114114114114

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National Marine Sanctuary was designated in 1990 placing 9850 km2 of coastal waters and 1381 km2 of coral reef area under NOAA and State of Florida management Immediate protective measures were instituted as a result of Sanctuary designation including prohibitions on oil and hydrocarbon exploration mining and otherwise altering the seabed and restrictions on large ship traffic Coral reefs were

Tortugas Ecological Reserve was implemented (Fig 163) It is now the largest of the Sanctuaryrsquos fully protected zones Located in the westernmost portion of the Florida Reef Tract the Reserve conserves important deep-water reef resources and fish communities unique to this region of the Florida Keys Together with the other fully proshytected zones the Tortugas Ecological Reserve

increased the total protected protected by prohibiting area of coral reefs within theAAAAA anchoring on coral touching Sanctuary to 10 coral and harvesting or The Tortugas Ecologicalcollecting coral and lsquolive Reserve is also significantrockrsquo To address water because it adjoins a 1578 km2

quality concerns discharges Research Natural Area in thefrom within the Sanctuary Dry Tortugas National Park aand areas outside the Sanctushy zone where shallow seagrassary that could potentially coral sand and mangroveenter and affect local re- communities are now con-sources were also restricted served Anchoring is prohib-BBBBBIn addition in 1997 the ited in the Research Natural Sanctuary instituted a net- Area and scientific research work of marine zones to and educational activities address a variety of manage- consistent with management ment objectives Five types of this zone require advance of zones were designed and permits from the National Park implemented to achieve Service To protect important biodiversity conservation fish nursery and spawning wildlife protection and the sites no fishing is allowed in separation of incompatible uses among other goals Three of the zone types (sanctuary preservation areas ecological reserves and special useresearchshyonly areas) are fully proshytected areas or marine reserves where lobstering fishing spearfishing shell collecting and all other consumptive activities are prohibited

The 1997 zoning plan established 23 discrete fully protected zones that encompass 65 of the Sanctuaryrsquos shallow coral reef habitats The largest zone at that time the 308 km2 Western Sambo Ecological Reserve protects offshore reefs as well as other critical habitats including mangrove fringe seagrasses productive hardbottom commushynities and patch reefs In July 2001 the 5179 km2

CCCCC

Figure 163 Recently established MPAs located offshore of Florida A Tortugas Ecological Reserve B Madison-Swanson Spawning Site and C Steamboat Lumps Spawning Site (Photos NOAA Photo Library and NPS)

the Research Natural Area Wildlife viewing snorkeling diving boating and sightshyseeing are managed in this zone primarily through commercial tour guides Together the Sanctuaryrsquos Tortugas Ecological Reserve and the National Parkrsquos Research Natural Area fully protect near-shore to deep reef habitats of the Tortugas region and form the largest permashynent marine reserve in the United States

Overall the Sanctuary management regime uses an ecosystem-wide approach to comprehensively address the variety of impacts pressures and threats to Florida Keys marine ecosystems It is only through this inclusive approach that the comshyplex problems facing coral reefs can be adequately addressed

115115115115115115115115115115

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Figure 164 Mangrove prop roots serve as important nursery sites for certain fish species (Photo Matt Kendall)

Biscayne National Park encompasses 683 km2 of waters just south of Miami including the majority of Biscayne Bay and a substantial portion of the northern reef tract with 291 km2 of coral reefs The Park is renowned for its productive coastal bay nearshore and offshore habitats including islands mangrove shorelines seagrass beds hardbottom communities and coral reefs which provide important recreational opportunities and spectacushylar scenic areas The National Park Service is concerned about degradation of Park resources in the face of coastal development increases in the number of recreational boats visiting the Park and fishing pressure The Park is revising its General Management Plan to provide for management zones that would give greater protection to Park resources including Natural Resources Reserve areas where fish nurseries and spawning habitats would be protected from fishing and disturbance In addition the Park is developing a cooperative plan with the State of Florida to adopt a coordishynated and seamless approach to protecting and restoring fishery resources both within and outside Park boundaries

The Key West National Wildlife Refuge and the Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge overlap with portions of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in the backcountry of the lower Keys and an extensive area around the Marquesas Islands between Key West and the Dry Tortugas The Refuges established in 1908 and 1938 respecshytively contain over 1619 km2 (400000 acres) of lush seagrass beds reef tract patch reefs hard-bottom community and pristine mangrove islets A cooperative agreement with the State of Florida on the management of these submerged lands created

a number of wildlife management zones in the Refuges These zones direct human activities away from sensitive wildlife and habitats and help to ensure their continued conservation The US Fish and Wildlife Service as administrators of the National Wildlife Refuge System works cooperashytively with the State and the Sanctuary for the protection of these sites

Of the dozen or so State Parks in Southeast Florida two are considered marine One of the oldest marine parks in the world (acquisition began in 1959) the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is located in Monroe County on Key Largo It covers 249 km2 (61531 acres) and has 461 km2 of coral reefs seagrass beds and mangrove swamps Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park which includes Shell Key is located in Monroe County west of Islamorada The Parkrsquos submerged habitats are located in Florida Bay and the Atlantic Ocean and include fringing mangrove forest extensive seagrass beds patch reef and sand flats

Reefs off the southeastern coast and the banks of the Middle Grounds have some protection through various MPAs but neither region is as comprehenshysively protected tas the Florida Keys North of Vero Beach the Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) was established in 1984 and is currently under the management of NOAArsquos National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council The HAPC runs along the central Florida eastern coast from Ft Pierce to Cape Canaveral and protects deep-water pinnacles of ivory coral (Oculina spp) This habitat has been identified as easily impacted by fishing activities including destruction by dredges trawlers and long-line fishing gear

The Madison-Swanson and Steamboat Lumps Spawning Sites were established in June 2000 under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act and will be manshyaged by NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council These MPAs located offshyshore on the West Florida shelf were created to protect spawning aggregations of gag (Mycteroshyperca microlepis) as well as other reef and pelagic fish species from fishing activities Deepwater habitats are also protected from fishery-related impacts These areas are closed to all fishing for a period of four years in order to evaluate the effects of fishing on spawning aggregations

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The Florida Middle Grounds HAPC was estabshylished in 1984 to protect this deeper coral habitat Located approximately 70 nautical miles to the northwest of Clearwater FL the HAPC prohibits the use of several types of commercial gear including fish traps to protect and maintain fish stocks The HAPC is under the management of NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Manageshyment Council

Gaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and Conservation CapacityCapacityCapacityCapacityCapacity

Current monitoring in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary has largely focused on detecting changes within the fully protected zones and determining Sanctuary-wide status and trends of water quality seagrasses and corals Some trends are beginning to show providing a source of hypotheses to be tested Continued monitoring is critical These data will facilitate detecting long-term changes in communities both locally and ecosystem-wide

Reef monitoring programs in southeastern Florida are limited by a near total lack of comprehensive inventories and assessments of marine communishyties in this area Baseline assessments with monishytoring programs at sites located off each of the counties in the region are needed The first step should be to develop a functional classification of the reef habitats For effective selection of monitorshying sites this classification should incorporate criteria to ensure that both representative habitats and unique sites receive attention

The databases of reef fish in Broward Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties are based on visual survey techniques that can overlook a substantial number of cryptic species (as many as 37 in a recent Caribbean survey Collette et al 2001) Thus intensive and broad-scale monitoring needs to be done to obtain a complete picture of the resident ichthyofauna In addition the fish below 30 m are poorly characterized and exploited by recreational fishers

Likewise the reef fish communities from seagrass and mangrove habitats of Port Everglades and the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) remain a mystery Given the high level of human activity in the area and since these are potentially important nursery sites (Leis 1991 Fig 164) there is need for immediate clarification

A formal monitoring program should also be instituted in the Florida Middle Grounds Ideally stations would be established based on the sites surveyed by Hopkins et al in 1977 The ability to compare the arearsquos current status with previous data would be helpful in detecting changes over time To that end video transects and methods comparable to the 1977 work should be employed

The reefs along the southeast coast and the Middle Grounds banks should be fully mapped The data should be consistent with state national and international programs and should be rapidly disseminated for public consumption A regional archive should be established

Government Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws and LegislationLegislationLegislationLegislationLegislation

When President George Bush signed the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act into law in 1990 the FKNMS became the first national marine sanctuary designated by Congress Its authority along with the 12 other national marine sanctuaries is established under the Nashytional Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) of 1972 16 USC 1431 et seq as amended The Sanctuary is administered by NOAA under the Department of Commerce and is managed jointly with the State of Florida under a co-trustee agreement because over half of the waters of the Sanctuary are state territorial waters The co-trustee agreement comshymits the Sanctuary to a periodic review of the management plan the first review will be in 2002

In 1997 a comprehensive management plan for the Sanctuary was implemented It contains ten action plans and associated strategies for conserving protecting and managing the significant natural and cultural resources of the Florida Keys marine environment

Largely non-regulatory the strategies educate citizens and visitors use volunteers to build stewardship for local marine resources appropriately mark channels and waterways install and maintain mooring buoys for vessel use survey submerged cultural resources and protect water quality As described previously the Sanctuary management plan also designated five types of marine zones to reduce pressures in heavily used areas protect critical habitats and species and separate use conflicts

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A total of 24 fully protected zones were impleshymented in 1997 and 2001 covering approximately 6 of the Sanctuary but protect 65 of shallow bank reef habitats and about 10 of coral resourshyces Most of the smaller zones (sanctuary preservashytion areas) are located along the offshore reef tracts and encompass the most heavily used spur and groove coral formations In these areas all conshysumptive activities are prohibited The effectiveshyness of these zones and other biological and chemshyical parameters are monitored under the Research and Monitoring Action Plan of the Sanctuary

Commercial fishing remains one of the largest industries in the Florida Keys (Fig 165) but it is regulated heavily by State and Federal fishery management councils Regulations for most commercial invertebrates and finfish include annual catch quotas closed seasons gear catch size restrictions The State also collects landing inforshymation on approximately 400 kinds of fish inverteshybrates and plants to track trends in catch and to evaluate regulations (DoC 1996)

The reefs of southeastern Florida are in State territorial waters and protected from some impacts by State statutes and regulations These include

fishing regulations dredging permits and a statute protecting corals from harvest sale or destruction Broward County has a small boat mooring program intended to reduce anchoring impacts on reefs

Conclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and Recommendations

Overall immediate action is needed to curtail alarming declines in coral reef condition throughshyout Florida Local communities that are culturally and economically supported by coral reefs must employ management strategies and focus on alleviating controllable human impacts For example in southeastern Florida the environmenshytal impacts of fisheries dredging vessel anchorshyages freshwater management and nutrient input should receive attention to maximize protection to the reefs in this area In the Florida Keys solutions that address wastewater and stormwater problems habitat degradation and overfishing must be pursued

At the regional level elected officials and policy-makers should work to conserve and protect watersheds reduce emissions and decrease energy use Citizens elected officials and MPA managers must work together to improve water quality

minimize physical impacts to corals Figure 165 Both shrimp (A) and lobster (B) fisheries are important industries and seagrasses employ sustainablein South Florida (Photo Paige Gill FKNMS and NOAA)

fishing practices reduce pollution and save energy

Globally strict air pollution stanshydards must be adopted carbon dioxide emissions reduced and renewable energy technologies employed to curb global warming trends International policies on global climate change should be adopted and implemented Compreshyhensive coral reef protection will ultimately require both proactive local steps and engaging leaders regionally and globally on climate change issuesAAAAA BBBBB

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treated according to USEPA Advanced Wastewater Treatment standards

Another indirect impact is altered freshwater flow into coastal waters The South Florida Water Manshyagement District has responsibility for managing the flow and release of freshwater to the ocean through an extensive system of canals and locks In Florida Bay reduced freshwater flow from water management practices in South Florida has been associated with increased plankton blooms (eutroshyphication) sponge and seagrass die-offs and fish kills Since Florida Bay and nearshore waters provide critical nursery and juvenile habitat for a variety of reef species the declines seen in these areas indirectly affect the overall health and structure of offshore coral reefs in the Florida Keys In addition to control flooding millions of gallons of fresh water have periodically been released into the canals and near-shore waters of South Florida creating problems for marine communities

The highly urbanized coastal region along Floridarsquos southeastern coast puts its coral reefs under varied and chronic stress During good weather both recreational and commercial boating and fishing are very heavy on these reefs The nearby Miami Port Everglades and Palm Beach ports handle cruise and container ships oil tankers and military vessels In the past ten years a number of moderate to severe large vessel groundings in Southeastern Florida have damaged the reef system (Fig 157) Signs of anchor damage are also routinely seen Four other large-vessel groundings have impacted areas of nearby Biscayne National Park

Serial overfishing (Ault et al 1998) throughout South Florida has dramatically altered reef fish and other animal populations contributing to an imshybalance in relationships critical to sustaining coral reef diversity In Biscayne National Park 26 of 34 fish species or 77 of the fish stocks that were examined were overfished (Ault et al 2001) In addition certain types of fishing gear negatively impact reefs in Southeastern Florida

Reef tracts off Boca Raton and Sunny Isles have been destroyed by dredging for beach renourishshyment channel deepening and channel mainteshynance Chronic turbidity and silt deposition from dredging and similar activities impact water quality indirectly affecting the reefs These activishyties smother sessile invertebrates resulting in

Figure 157 The MV Firat grounded offshore of Fort Lauderdale Florida (Photo Greg McIntosh)

barren areas Fiber optic cables were deployed across reefs in some areas causing abrasion and detachment of corals and sponges (Jaap 2000)

Introduced competitive species add additional stress Within the past decade several alien species have been identified on Florida Keys reefs At least eight species of marine mollusks have been introshyduced into South Florida and are expanding their range Non-native marine crustaceans are equally diverse and include six crab species five shrimp species three barnacles four isopods and one tanaid Most of these species are foreign to North American waters and were introduced through ship hull fouling or ballast water dumping (USGS 2002)

The majority of Floridarsquos marine fish introductions have come from released aquarium fish with occasional reports from divers of various exotic species living among native reef fish For example the Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans) has been sighted on South Florida reefs (Courtney 1995) Another popular aquarium fish the Pacific batfish (Platax orbicularus) was observed off the Upper Keys two specimens were removed and delivered to the New England Aquarium (B Keller pers comm)

Natural VariabilityNatural VariabilityNatural VariabilityNatural VariabilityNatural Variability ndash In addition to the myriad of human impacts affecting coral reef health in Florida natural environmental variability affects these habitats Principal natural environmental

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Figure 158 Several hurricanes have recently hit Florida impacting its reefs (Photo South Florida Water Management District)

impacts include hurricanes (Fig 158) severe storms winter cold fronts cold-water upwelling and ground water effects Under normal conditions corals and associated reef organisms tolerate a certain level of environmental stress and recover or acclimatize to sporadic events such as temperature variation or storms The added human impacts and stresses may be prolonging the time needed as well as the ability of these organisms and systems to recover from large-scale climate fluctuations and other global changes

Current Conservation ManagementCurrent Conservation ManagementCurrent Conservation ManagementCurrent Conservation ManagementCurrent Conservation Management

MappingMappingMappingMappingMapping ndash Only about 50 of Floridarsquos coral reef and associated benthic habitats have been mapped As a result reliable estimates of the percentage of coral reef and related habitats as well as the area protected by no-take provisions cannot be accurately computed state-wide

Mapping efforts were undertaken in the Sanctuary in the 1990s FWCFMRI and NOAA published digital benthic habitat maps for the Florida Keys in 1998 (FMRINOAA 1998 Fig 159) Recently the Dry Tortugas region was characterized (Schmidt et al1999) Also Agassiz (1882) produced a remarkshyable baseline map of Dry Tortugas benthic habitats which suggest a 04 km2 loss of elkhorn coral in a 100-year period (Davis 1982) Mapping gaps exist for deeper regions of the Tortugas

The reefs along the Southeastern Florida coast are not as well studied In 1999 Nova Southeastern Universityrsquos National Coral Reef Institute (NSU NCRI) and the Broward County Department of Planning and Environmental Protection initiated

mapping of Broward County reefs At this time there is no comparable mapshyping program in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade Counties

Improved mapping has resulted from aerial photos of near-shore areas and laser-based bathymetry of the three reef tracts off Southeastern Florida for specific projects For example detailed LADS (laser depth sounding) bathymshyetry is complete for all of Broward County offshore to 36 m A smaller amount of the area is also mapped with multibeam bathymetry and side-scan sonar

Estimates of benthic cover are available from some monitoring programs There is a general reef distrishybution map in Jaap and Hallock (1990)

No mapping of the Florida Middle Grounds has been conducted to date

Monitoring Assessments and ResearchMonitoring Assessments and ResearchMonitoring Assessments and ResearchMonitoring Assessments and ResearchMonitoring Assessments and Research ndash In the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary a comprehensive research and monitoring program has been implemented to establish baseline inforshymation on the various components of the ecosysshytem and help ascertain possible causes and effects of changes This way research and monitoring can ensure the effective implementation of manageshyment strategies using the best available scientific information

Research and monitoring are conducted by many groups including Local State and Federal agenshycies public and private universities private re-

Figure 159 A portion of the benthic habitat map of the Florida Keys (Map FMRINOAA)

Bare Substrate Continuous Seagrass Hardbottom Inland Water Patch Reef Patchy Seagrass Platform Margin Unknown Bottom Land

LegendLegendLegendLegendLegend

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search foundations environmental organizations and independent researchers The Sanctuary facilishytates and coordinates research by registering researchers through a permitting system recruiting institutions for priority research activities overseeshying data management and disseminating findings to the scientific community and the public

The Water Quality Protection Program (WQPP) funded by the USEPA and recently NOAA is the most comprehensive long-term monitoring proshygram in the Florida Keys Begun in 1994 it monishytors three components water quality seagrasses and coralshardbottom communities Reef fishes spiny lobster queen conch and benthic cover are also monitored throughout the Sanctuary

Water quality has been monitored at 154 fixed stations since 1995 Water samples are collected for measuring salinity temperature dissolved oxygen turbidity relative fluorescence and light attenuashytion Water chemistry includes nitrate nitrite ammonium dissolved inorganic nitrogen and soluble reactive phosphate Concentrations of total organic nitrogen total organic carbon total phosshyphorus and silicate are also measured along with chlorophyll a and alkaline phosphatase activity (Jones and Boyer 2001)

Seagrass monitoring under the WQPP identifies the distribution and abundance of seagrasses within the Sanctuary and tracks changes over time Quarterly monitoring is conducted at 30 fixed stations and annual monitoring occurs at 206 to 336 randomly-selected sites (Fourqurean et al 2001 WQPP 2002) Permanent stations are co-located at 30 of the water quality monitoring sites to help discern relationships between seagrass health and water quality This long-term monitoring is also invalushyable for determining human impacts on the Sanctshyuaryrsquos seagrass communities

The Coral ReefHardbottom Monitoring Project (CRMP 2002) tracks the status and trends of coral and hardbottom communities throughout the Sanctshyuary (Jaap et al 2001 Fig 160) The projectrsquos 43 permanent sites include hardbottom patch reef shallow offshore reef and deep offshore reef comshymunities Biodiversity coral condition and coral cover are recorded annually at four stations within each site for a total of 172 stations

In addition to the WQPP a Zone Monitoring Program monitors the 24 discrete marine reserves

located within the Sanctuary Implemented in 1997 the goal of the program is to determine whether these fully protected zones effectively protect marine biodiversity and enhance human values related to the Sanctuary Parameters measured include the abundance and size of fish inverteshybrates and algae as well as economic and aesthetic values of the Sanctuary and compliance with regulations This program monitors changes in ecosystem structure (size and number of inverteshybrates fish corals and other organisms) and function (coral recruitment herbivory predation) Human uses of zoned areas are also tracked

Figure 160 Photo-monitoring of corals within the FKNMS (Photo Mike White)

Lastly continuous monitoring of certain physical parameters of seawater and ocean condition is recorded by instruments (C-MAN stations) installed along the Florida Reef Tract as part of the SEAKEYS program (SEAKEYS 2002) There are six C-MAN stations from Fowey Rocks to the Dry Tortugas and one in Florida Bay These stations gather data and periodically transmit it to satellites where it is converted to near real-time reports available on the Internet For the past ten years the Sanctuary has maintained a network of 27 thermographs that record water temperature every two hours located both inshore and offshore throughout the Keys

As baselines are being documented Sanctuary managers are developing a comprehensive science plan outlining specific management objectives and their associated monitoring and research needs This is an evolving adaptive management apshyproach to help ensure management decisions are supported by the best available science The science plan will identify high-priority research and monitoring projects to help fill gaps in understandshy

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Figure 161 Coral reef monitoring along Floridarsquos southeastshyern coast (Photo NCRI)

ing the ecosystem and its responses to management actions

Recognizing the importance of an ecosystem approach to management the Sanctuary engages agencies working on the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan to achieve appropriate restoration goals for the entire ecosystem including coral reefs and seagrasses Active monitorshying of natural resources is a Sanctuary priority so that changes occurring as a result of water management regimes and restoration can be detected

Along Floridarsquos southeastshyern coast much of the present monitoring origishynated as impact and mitigation studies for projects that had adverse impacts to specific sites (dredging ship groundings pipeline and cable deployments and beach renourishment) In the past such studies have been of limited duration (one to three years) and the focus has been largely on beach renourishshyment restoration for grounding impacts and some baseline data collection from reference areas

Monitoring has begun in Broward County at 23 fixed 30-m2 sites for environmental conditions (sedimentation quantities and rates water quality and temperature) and coral sponge and fish abunshydance andor cover (Fig 161) There have been a number of discrete fish surveys on the reefs of Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties most of which have been associated with beach renourishshyment projects or artificial reef management

(Lindeman and Snyder 1999 Light 2001 C Avila pers comm)

However there is a concerted effort of NSUNCRI scientists to complete a baseline survey of reef fishes off Broward County (Ettinger et al 2001 Harttung et al 2001) Initiated in 1998 this NOAA-funded survey is recording fishes on the edges and crests of the three major reef lines At this time more than 600 point-counts have been completed and the full survey will be completed by mid-2002 In addition during summer 2001 NSUNCRI scientists inventoried fish on the first 30 m of the inshore reef at 158-m intervals for 25 km of shoreline using multiple visual techniques (point-count 30 m transects and 20 min random swim) (Baron et al 2001) Broward County now has a database comprised of more than 1000 visual censuses from the shore to 30 m for reef fish

Researchers at NSUNCRI are also currently involved in a multivariate hypothesis-driven study that looks at the interacshytion of fish transplanted corals coral recruits and potential coral attractants or optimal substrates (Fig 162) Research variables include four potenshytially different fish assemshyblages (determined by reef complexity) and biofilm and coral recruitment on settlement plates of made of concrete concrete and iron concrete and

quarry rock or concrete and coral transplants Results of this three-year study should yield information critical to reef restoration

The Florida Middle Grounds do not have any onshygoing formal monitoring programs at this time Overall the development of a comprehensive monitoring program for the reefs of southeastern Florida and the Florida Middle Grounds would provide a better understanding of current condishytions for fish and corals in these regions and would promote more effective management

MPAs and Fully Protected ReservesMPAs and Fully Protected ReservesMPAs and Fully Protected ReservesMPAs and Fully Protected ReservesMPAs and Fully Protected Reserves ndash As with monitoring assessment and research programs coral reef conservation and management through the designation and implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs) varies widely The largest and best-known MPA in Florida the Florida Keys

Figure 162 Detail of an artificial reef that is being used by NCRI to study reef restoration techniques (Photo NCRI)

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National Marine Sanctuary was designated in 1990 placing 9850 km2 of coastal waters and 1381 km2 of coral reef area under NOAA and State of Florida management Immediate protective measures were instituted as a result of Sanctuary designation including prohibitions on oil and hydrocarbon exploration mining and otherwise altering the seabed and restrictions on large ship traffic Coral reefs were

Tortugas Ecological Reserve was implemented (Fig 163) It is now the largest of the Sanctuaryrsquos fully protected zones Located in the westernmost portion of the Florida Reef Tract the Reserve conserves important deep-water reef resources and fish communities unique to this region of the Florida Keys Together with the other fully proshytected zones the Tortugas Ecological Reserve

increased the total protected protected by prohibiting area of coral reefs within theAAAAA anchoring on coral touching Sanctuary to 10 coral and harvesting or The Tortugas Ecologicalcollecting coral and lsquolive Reserve is also significantrockrsquo To address water because it adjoins a 1578 km2

quality concerns discharges Research Natural Area in thefrom within the Sanctuary Dry Tortugas National Park aand areas outside the Sanctushy zone where shallow seagrassary that could potentially coral sand and mangroveenter and affect local re- communities are now con-sources were also restricted served Anchoring is prohib-BBBBBIn addition in 1997 the ited in the Research Natural Sanctuary instituted a net- Area and scientific research work of marine zones to and educational activities address a variety of manage- consistent with management ment objectives Five types of this zone require advance of zones were designed and permits from the National Park implemented to achieve Service To protect important biodiversity conservation fish nursery and spawning wildlife protection and the sites no fishing is allowed in separation of incompatible uses among other goals Three of the zone types (sanctuary preservation areas ecological reserves and special useresearchshyonly areas) are fully proshytected areas or marine reserves where lobstering fishing spearfishing shell collecting and all other consumptive activities are prohibited

The 1997 zoning plan established 23 discrete fully protected zones that encompass 65 of the Sanctuaryrsquos shallow coral reef habitats The largest zone at that time the 308 km2 Western Sambo Ecological Reserve protects offshore reefs as well as other critical habitats including mangrove fringe seagrasses productive hardbottom commushynities and patch reefs In July 2001 the 5179 km2

CCCCC

Figure 163 Recently established MPAs located offshore of Florida A Tortugas Ecological Reserve B Madison-Swanson Spawning Site and C Steamboat Lumps Spawning Site (Photos NOAA Photo Library and NPS)

the Research Natural Area Wildlife viewing snorkeling diving boating and sightshyseeing are managed in this zone primarily through commercial tour guides Together the Sanctuaryrsquos Tortugas Ecological Reserve and the National Parkrsquos Research Natural Area fully protect near-shore to deep reef habitats of the Tortugas region and form the largest permashynent marine reserve in the United States

Overall the Sanctuary management regime uses an ecosystem-wide approach to comprehensively address the variety of impacts pressures and threats to Florida Keys marine ecosystems It is only through this inclusive approach that the comshyplex problems facing coral reefs can be adequately addressed

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Figure 164 Mangrove prop roots serve as important nursery sites for certain fish species (Photo Matt Kendall)

Biscayne National Park encompasses 683 km2 of waters just south of Miami including the majority of Biscayne Bay and a substantial portion of the northern reef tract with 291 km2 of coral reefs The Park is renowned for its productive coastal bay nearshore and offshore habitats including islands mangrove shorelines seagrass beds hardbottom communities and coral reefs which provide important recreational opportunities and spectacushylar scenic areas The National Park Service is concerned about degradation of Park resources in the face of coastal development increases in the number of recreational boats visiting the Park and fishing pressure The Park is revising its General Management Plan to provide for management zones that would give greater protection to Park resources including Natural Resources Reserve areas where fish nurseries and spawning habitats would be protected from fishing and disturbance In addition the Park is developing a cooperative plan with the State of Florida to adopt a coordishynated and seamless approach to protecting and restoring fishery resources both within and outside Park boundaries

The Key West National Wildlife Refuge and the Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge overlap with portions of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in the backcountry of the lower Keys and an extensive area around the Marquesas Islands between Key West and the Dry Tortugas The Refuges established in 1908 and 1938 respecshytively contain over 1619 km2 (400000 acres) of lush seagrass beds reef tract patch reefs hard-bottom community and pristine mangrove islets A cooperative agreement with the State of Florida on the management of these submerged lands created

a number of wildlife management zones in the Refuges These zones direct human activities away from sensitive wildlife and habitats and help to ensure their continued conservation The US Fish and Wildlife Service as administrators of the National Wildlife Refuge System works cooperashytively with the State and the Sanctuary for the protection of these sites

Of the dozen or so State Parks in Southeast Florida two are considered marine One of the oldest marine parks in the world (acquisition began in 1959) the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is located in Monroe County on Key Largo It covers 249 km2 (61531 acres) and has 461 km2 of coral reefs seagrass beds and mangrove swamps Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park which includes Shell Key is located in Monroe County west of Islamorada The Parkrsquos submerged habitats are located in Florida Bay and the Atlantic Ocean and include fringing mangrove forest extensive seagrass beds patch reef and sand flats

Reefs off the southeastern coast and the banks of the Middle Grounds have some protection through various MPAs but neither region is as comprehenshysively protected tas the Florida Keys North of Vero Beach the Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) was established in 1984 and is currently under the management of NOAArsquos National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council The HAPC runs along the central Florida eastern coast from Ft Pierce to Cape Canaveral and protects deep-water pinnacles of ivory coral (Oculina spp) This habitat has been identified as easily impacted by fishing activities including destruction by dredges trawlers and long-line fishing gear

The Madison-Swanson and Steamboat Lumps Spawning Sites were established in June 2000 under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act and will be manshyaged by NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council These MPAs located offshyshore on the West Florida shelf were created to protect spawning aggregations of gag (Mycteroshyperca microlepis) as well as other reef and pelagic fish species from fishing activities Deepwater habitats are also protected from fishery-related impacts These areas are closed to all fishing for a period of four years in order to evaluate the effects of fishing on spawning aggregations

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The Florida Middle Grounds HAPC was estabshylished in 1984 to protect this deeper coral habitat Located approximately 70 nautical miles to the northwest of Clearwater FL the HAPC prohibits the use of several types of commercial gear including fish traps to protect and maintain fish stocks The HAPC is under the management of NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Manageshyment Council

Gaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and Conservation CapacityCapacityCapacityCapacityCapacity

Current monitoring in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary has largely focused on detecting changes within the fully protected zones and determining Sanctuary-wide status and trends of water quality seagrasses and corals Some trends are beginning to show providing a source of hypotheses to be tested Continued monitoring is critical These data will facilitate detecting long-term changes in communities both locally and ecosystem-wide

Reef monitoring programs in southeastern Florida are limited by a near total lack of comprehensive inventories and assessments of marine communishyties in this area Baseline assessments with monishytoring programs at sites located off each of the counties in the region are needed The first step should be to develop a functional classification of the reef habitats For effective selection of monitorshying sites this classification should incorporate criteria to ensure that both representative habitats and unique sites receive attention

The databases of reef fish in Broward Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties are based on visual survey techniques that can overlook a substantial number of cryptic species (as many as 37 in a recent Caribbean survey Collette et al 2001) Thus intensive and broad-scale monitoring needs to be done to obtain a complete picture of the resident ichthyofauna In addition the fish below 30 m are poorly characterized and exploited by recreational fishers

Likewise the reef fish communities from seagrass and mangrove habitats of Port Everglades and the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) remain a mystery Given the high level of human activity in the area and since these are potentially important nursery sites (Leis 1991 Fig 164) there is need for immediate clarification

A formal monitoring program should also be instituted in the Florida Middle Grounds Ideally stations would be established based on the sites surveyed by Hopkins et al in 1977 The ability to compare the arearsquos current status with previous data would be helpful in detecting changes over time To that end video transects and methods comparable to the 1977 work should be employed

The reefs along the southeast coast and the Middle Grounds banks should be fully mapped The data should be consistent with state national and international programs and should be rapidly disseminated for public consumption A regional archive should be established

Government Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws and LegislationLegislationLegislationLegislationLegislation

When President George Bush signed the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act into law in 1990 the FKNMS became the first national marine sanctuary designated by Congress Its authority along with the 12 other national marine sanctuaries is established under the Nashytional Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) of 1972 16 USC 1431 et seq as amended The Sanctuary is administered by NOAA under the Department of Commerce and is managed jointly with the State of Florida under a co-trustee agreement because over half of the waters of the Sanctuary are state territorial waters The co-trustee agreement comshymits the Sanctuary to a periodic review of the management plan the first review will be in 2002

In 1997 a comprehensive management plan for the Sanctuary was implemented It contains ten action plans and associated strategies for conserving protecting and managing the significant natural and cultural resources of the Florida Keys marine environment

Largely non-regulatory the strategies educate citizens and visitors use volunteers to build stewardship for local marine resources appropriately mark channels and waterways install and maintain mooring buoys for vessel use survey submerged cultural resources and protect water quality As described previously the Sanctuary management plan also designated five types of marine zones to reduce pressures in heavily used areas protect critical habitats and species and separate use conflicts

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A total of 24 fully protected zones were impleshymented in 1997 and 2001 covering approximately 6 of the Sanctuary but protect 65 of shallow bank reef habitats and about 10 of coral resourshyces Most of the smaller zones (sanctuary preservashytion areas) are located along the offshore reef tracts and encompass the most heavily used spur and groove coral formations In these areas all conshysumptive activities are prohibited The effectiveshyness of these zones and other biological and chemshyical parameters are monitored under the Research and Monitoring Action Plan of the Sanctuary

Commercial fishing remains one of the largest industries in the Florida Keys (Fig 165) but it is regulated heavily by State and Federal fishery management councils Regulations for most commercial invertebrates and finfish include annual catch quotas closed seasons gear catch size restrictions The State also collects landing inforshymation on approximately 400 kinds of fish inverteshybrates and plants to track trends in catch and to evaluate regulations (DoC 1996)

The reefs of southeastern Florida are in State territorial waters and protected from some impacts by State statutes and regulations These include

fishing regulations dredging permits and a statute protecting corals from harvest sale or destruction Broward County has a small boat mooring program intended to reduce anchoring impacts on reefs

Conclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and Recommendations

Overall immediate action is needed to curtail alarming declines in coral reef condition throughshyout Florida Local communities that are culturally and economically supported by coral reefs must employ management strategies and focus on alleviating controllable human impacts For example in southeastern Florida the environmenshytal impacts of fisheries dredging vessel anchorshyages freshwater management and nutrient input should receive attention to maximize protection to the reefs in this area In the Florida Keys solutions that address wastewater and stormwater problems habitat degradation and overfishing must be pursued

At the regional level elected officials and policy-makers should work to conserve and protect watersheds reduce emissions and decrease energy use Citizens elected officials and MPA managers must work together to improve water quality

minimize physical impacts to corals Figure 165 Both shrimp (A) and lobster (B) fisheries are important industries and seagrasses employ sustainablein South Florida (Photo Paige Gill FKNMS and NOAA)

fishing practices reduce pollution and save energy

Globally strict air pollution stanshydards must be adopted carbon dioxide emissions reduced and renewable energy technologies employed to curb global warming trends International policies on global climate change should be adopted and implemented Compreshyhensive coral reef protection will ultimately require both proactive local steps and engaging leaders regionally and globally on climate change issuesAAAAA BBBBB

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Figure 158 Several hurricanes have recently hit Florida impacting its reefs (Photo South Florida Water Management District)

impacts include hurricanes (Fig 158) severe storms winter cold fronts cold-water upwelling and ground water effects Under normal conditions corals and associated reef organisms tolerate a certain level of environmental stress and recover or acclimatize to sporadic events such as temperature variation or storms The added human impacts and stresses may be prolonging the time needed as well as the ability of these organisms and systems to recover from large-scale climate fluctuations and other global changes

Current Conservation ManagementCurrent Conservation ManagementCurrent Conservation ManagementCurrent Conservation ManagementCurrent Conservation Management

MappingMappingMappingMappingMapping ndash Only about 50 of Floridarsquos coral reef and associated benthic habitats have been mapped As a result reliable estimates of the percentage of coral reef and related habitats as well as the area protected by no-take provisions cannot be accurately computed state-wide

Mapping efforts were undertaken in the Sanctuary in the 1990s FWCFMRI and NOAA published digital benthic habitat maps for the Florida Keys in 1998 (FMRINOAA 1998 Fig 159) Recently the Dry Tortugas region was characterized (Schmidt et al1999) Also Agassiz (1882) produced a remarkshyable baseline map of Dry Tortugas benthic habitats which suggest a 04 km2 loss of elkhorn coral in a 100-year period (Davis 1982) Mapping gaps exist for deeper regions of the Tortugas

The reefs along the Southeastern Florida coast are not as well studied In 1999 Nova Southeastern Universityrsquos National Coral Reef Institute (NSU NCRI) and the Broward County Department of Planning and Environmental Protection initiated

mapping of Broward County reefs At this time there is no comparable mapshyping program in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade Counties

Improved mapping has resulted from aerial photos of near-shore areas and laser-based bathymetry of the three reef tracts off Southeastern Florida for specific projects For example detailed LADS (laser depth sounding) bathymshyetry is complete for all of Broward County offshore to 36 m A smaller amount of the area is also mapped with multibeam bathymetry and side-scan sonar

Estimates of benthic cover are available from some monitoring programs There is a general reef distrishybution map in Jaap and Hallock (1990)

No mapping of the Florida Middle Grounds has been conducted to date

Monitoring Assessments and ResearchMonitoring Assessments and ResearchMonitoring Assessments and ResearchMonitoring Assessments and ResearchMonitoring Assessments and Research ndash In the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary a comprehensive research and monitoring program has been implemented to establish baseline inforshymation on the various components of the ecosysshytem and help ascertain possible causes and effects of changes This way research and monitoring can ensure the effective implementation of manageshyment strategies using the best available scientific information

Research and monitoring are conducted by many groups including Local State and Federal agenshycies public and private universities private re-

Figure 159 A portion of the benthic habitat map of the Florida Keys (Map FMRINOAA)

Bare Substrate Continuous Seagrass Hardbottom Inland Water Patch Reef Patchy Seagrass Platform Margin Unknown Bottom Land

LegendLegendLegendLegendLegend

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search foundations environmental organizations and independent researchers The Sanctuary facilishytates and coordinates research by registering researchers through a permitting system recruiting institutions for priority research activities overseeshying data management and disseminating findings to the scientific community and the public

The Water Quality Protection Program (WQPP) funded by the USEPA and recently NOAA is the most comprehensive long-term monitoring proshygram in the Florida Keys Begun in 1994 it monishytors three components water quality seagrasses and coralshardbottom communities Reef fishes spiny lobster queen conch and benthic cover are also monitored throughout the Sanctuary

Water quality has been monitored at 154 fixed stations since 1995 Water samples are collected for measuring salinity temperature dissolved oxygen turbidity relative fluorescence and light attenuashytion Water chemistry includes nitrate nitrite ammonium dissolved inorganic nitrogen and soluble reactive phosphate Concentrations of total organic nitrogen total organic carbon total phosshyphorus and silicate are also measured along with chlorophyll a and alkaline phosphatase activity (Jones and Boyer 2001)

Seagrass monitoring under the WQPP identifies the distribution and abundance of seagrasses within the Sanctuary and tracks changes over time Quarterly monitoring is conducted at 30 fixed stations and annual monitoring occurs at 206 to 336 randomly-selected sites (Fourqurean et al 2001 WQPP 2002) Permanent stations are co-located at 30 of the water quality monitoring sites to help discern relationships between seagrass health and water quality This long-term monitoring is also invalushyable for determining human impacts on the Sanctshyuaryrsquos seagrass communities

The Coral ReefHardbottom Monitoring Project (CRMP 2002) tracks the status and trends of coral and hardbottom communities throughout the Sanctshyuary (Jaap et al 2001 Fig 160) The projectrsquos 43 permanent sites include hardbottom patch reef shallow offshore reef and deep offshore reef comshymunities Biodiversity coral condition and coral cover are recorded annually at four stations within each site for a total of 172 stations

In addition to the WQPP a Zone Monitoring Program monitors the 24 discrete marine reserves

located within the Sanctuary Implemented in 1997 the goal of the program is to determine whether these fully protected zones effectively protect marine biodiversity and enhance human values related to the Sanctuary Parameters measured include the abundance and size of fish inverteshybrates and algae as well as economic and aesthetic values of the Sanctuary and compliance with regulations This program monitors changes in ecosystem structure (size and number of inverteshybrates fish corals and other organisms) and function (coral recruitment herbivory predation) Human uses of zoned areas are also tracked

Figure 160 Photo-monitoring of corals within the FKNMS (Photo Mike White)

Lastly continuous monitoring of certain physical parameters of seawater and ocean condition is recorded by instruments (C-MAN stations) installed along the Florida Reef Tract as part of the SEAKEYS program (SEAKEYS 2002) There are six C-MAN stations from Fowey Rocks to the Dry Tortugas and one in Florida Bay These stations gather data and periodically transmit it to satellites where it is converted to near real-time reports available on the Internet For the past ten years the Sanctuary has maintained a network of 27 thermographs that record water temperature every two hours located both inshore and offshore throughout the Keys

As baselines are being documented Sanctuary managers are developing a comprehensive science plan outlining specific management objectives and their associated monitoring and research needs This is an evolving adaptive management apshyproach to help ensure management decisions are supported by the best available science The science plan will identify high-priority research and monitoring projects to help fill gaps in understandshy

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Figure 161 Coral reef monitoring along Floridarsquos southeastshyern coast (Photo NCRI)

ing the ecosystem and its responses to management actions

Recognizing the importance of an ecosystem approach to management the Sanctuary engages agencies working on the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan to achieve appropriate restoration goals for the entire ecosystem including coral reefs and seagrasses Active monitorshying of natural resources is a Sanctuary priority so that changes occurring as a result of water management regimes and restoration can be detected

Along Floridarsquos southeastshyern coast much of the present monitoring origishynated as impact and mitigation studies for projects that had adverse impacts to specific sites (dredging ship groundings pipeline and cable deployments and beach renourishment) In the past such studies have been of limited duration (one to three years) and the focus has been largely on beach renourishshyment restoration for grounding impacts and some baseline data collection from reference areas

Monitoring has begun in Broward County at 23 fixed 30-m2 sites for environmental conditions (sedimentation quantities and rates water quality and temperature) and coral sponge and fish abunshydance andor cover (Fig 161) There have been a number of discrete fish surveys on the reefs of Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties most of which have been associated with beach renourishshyment projects or artificial reef management

(Lindeman and Snyder 1999 Light 2001 C Avila pers comm)

However there is a concerted effort of NSUNCRI scientists to complete a baseline survey of reef fishes off Broward County (Ettinger et al 2001 Harttung et al 2001) Initiated in 1998 this NOAA-funded survey is recording fishes on the edges and crests of the three major reef lines At this time more than 600 point-counts have been completed and the full survey will be completed by mid-2002 In addition during summer 2001 NSUNCRI scientists inventoried fish on the first 30 m of the inshore reef at 158-m intervals for 25 km of shoreline using multiple visual techniques (point-count 30 m transects and 20 min random swim) (Baron et al 2001) Broward County now has a database comprised of more than 1000 visual censuses from the shore to 30 m for reef fish

Researchers at NSUNCRI are also currently involved in a multivariate hypothesis-driven study that looks at the interacshytion of fish transplanted corals coral recruits and potential coral attractants or optimal substrates (Fig 162) Research variables include four potenshytially different fish assemshyblages (determined by reef complexity) and biofilm and coral recruitment on settlement plates of made of concrete concrete and iron concrete and

quarry rock or concrete and coral transplants Results of this three-year study should yield information critical to reef restoration

The Florida Middle Grounds do not have any onshygoing formal monitoring programs at this time Overall the development of a comprehensive monitoring program for the reefs of southeastern Florida and the Florida Middle Grounds would provide a better understanding of current condishytions for fish and corals in these regions and would promote more effective management

MPAs and Fully Protected ReservesMPAs and Fully Protected ReservesMPAs and Fully Protected ReservesMPAs and Fully Protected ReservesMPAs and Fully Protected Reserves ndash As with monitoring assessment and research programs coral reef conservation and management through the designation and implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs) varies widely The largest and best-known MPA in Florida the Florida Keys

Figure 162 Detail of an artificial reef that is being used by NCRI to study reef restoration techniques (Photo NCRI)

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National Marine Sanctuary was designated in 1990 placing 9850 km2 of coastal waters and 1381 km2 of coral reef area under NOAA and State of Florida management Immediate protective measures were instituted as a result of Sanctuary designation including prohibitions on oil and hydrocarbon exploration mining and otherwise altering the seabed and restrictions on large ship traffic Coral reefs were

Tortugas Ecological Reserve was implemented (Fig 163) It is now the largest of the Sanctuaryrsquos fully protected zones Located in the westernmost portion of the Florida Reef Tract the Reserve conserves important deep-water reef resources and fish communities unique to this region of the Florida Keys Together with the other fully proshytected zones the Tortugas Ecological Reserve

increased the total protected protected by prohibiting area of coral reefs within theAAAAA anchoring on coral touching Sanctuary to 10 coral and harvesting or The Tortugas Ecologicalcollecting coral and lsquolive Reserve is also significantrockrsquo To address water because it adjoins a 1578 km2

quality concerns discharges Research Natural Area in thefrom within the Sanctuary Dry Tortugas National Park aand areas outside the Sanctushy zone where shallow seagrassary that could potentially coral sand and mangroveenter and affect local re- communities are now con-sources were also restricted served Anchoring is prohib-BBBBBIn addition in 1997 the ited in the Research Natural Sanctuary instituted a net- Area and scientific research work of marine zones to and educational activities address a variety of manage- consistent with management ment objectives Five types of this zone require advance of zones were designed and permits from the National Park implemented to achieve Service To protect important biodiversity conservation fish nursery and spawning wildlife protection and the sites no fishing is allowed in separation of incompatible uses among other goals Three of the zone types (sanctuary preservation areas ecological reserves and special useresearchshyonly areas) are fully proshytected areas or marine reserves where lobstering fishing spearfishing shell collecting and all other consumptive activities are prohibited

The 1997 zoning plan established 23 discrete fully protected zones that encompass 65 of the Sanctuaryrsquos shallow coral reef habitats The largest zone at that time the 308 km2 Western Sambo Ecological Reserve protects offshore reefs as well as other critical habitats including mangrove fringe seagrasses productive hardbottom commushynities and patch reefs In July 2001 the 5179 km2

CCCCC

Figure 163 Recently established MPAs located offshore of Florida A Tortugas Ecological Reserve B Madison-Swanson Spawning Site and C Steamboat Lumps Spawning Site (Photos NOAA Photo Library and NPS)

the Research Natural Area Wildlife viewing snorkeling diving boating and sightshyseeing are managed in this zone primarily through commercial tour guides Together the Sanctuaryrsquos Tortugas Ecological Reserve and the National Parkrsquos Research Natural Area fully protect near-shore to deep reef habitats of the Tortugas region and form the largest permashynent marine reserve in the United States

Overall the Sanctuary management regime uses an ecosystem-wide approach to comprehensively address the variety of impacts pressures and threats to Florida Keys marine ecosystems It is only through this inclusive approach that the comshyplex problems facing coral reefs can be adequately addressed

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Figure 164 Mangrove prop roots serve as important nursery sites for certain fish species (Photo Matt Kendall)

Biscayne National Park encompasses 683 km2 of waters just south of Miami including the majority of Biscayne Bay and a substantial portion of the northern reef tract with 291 km2 of coral reefs The Park is renowned for its productive coastal bay nearshore and offshore habitats including islands mangrove shorelines seagrass beds hardbottom communities and coral reefs which provide important recreational opportunities and spectacushylar scenic areas The National Park Service is concerned about degradation of Park resources in the face of coastal development increases in the number of recreational boats visiting the Park and fishing pressure The Park is revising its General Management Plan to provide for management zones that would give greater protection to Park resources including Natural Resources Reserve areas where fish nurseries and spawning habitats would be protected from fishing and disturbance In addition the Park is developing a cooperative plan with the State of Florida to adopt a coordishynated and seamless approach to protecting and restoring fishery resources both within and outside Park boundaries

The Key West National Wildlife Refuge and the Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge overlap with portions of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in the backcountry of the lower Keys and an extensive area around the Marquesas Islands between Key West and the Dry Tortugas The Refuges established in 1908 and 1938 respecshytively contain over 1619 km2 (400000 acres) of lush seagrass beds reef tract patch reefs hard-bottom community and pristine mangrove islets A cooperative agreement with the State of Florida on the management of these submerged lands created

a number of wildlife management zones in the Refuges These zones direct human activities away from sensitive wildlife and habitats and help to ensure their continued conservation The US Fish and Wildlife Service as administrators of the National Wildlife Refuge System works cooperashytively with the State and the Sanctuary for the protection of these sites

Of the dozen or so State Parks in Southeast Florida two are considered marine One of the oldest marine parks in the world (acquisition began in 1959) the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is located in Monroe County on Key Largo It covers 249 km2 (61531 acres) and has 461 km2 of coral reefs seagrass beds and mangrove swamps Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park which includes Shell Key is located in Monroe County west of Islamorada The Parkrsquos submerged habitats are located in Florida Bay and the Atlantic Ocean and include fringing mangrove forest extensive seagrass beds patch reef and sand flats

Reefs off the southeastern coast and the banks of the Middle Grounds have some protection through various MPAs but neither region is as comprehenshysively protected tas the Florida Keys North of Vero Beach the Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) was established in 1984 and is currently under the management of NOAArsquos National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council The HAPC runs along the central Florida eastern coast from Ft Pierce to Cape Canaveral and protects deep-water pinnacles of ivory coral (Oculina spp) This habitat has been identified as easily impacted by fishing activities including destruction by dredges trawlers and long-line fishing gear

The Madison-Swanson and Steamboat Lumps Spawning Sites were established in June 2000 under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act and will be manshyaged by NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council These MPAs located offshyshore on the West Florida shelf were created to protect spawning aggregations of gag (Mycteroshyperca microlepis) as well as other reef and pelagic fish species from fishing activities Deepwater habitats are also protected from fishery-related impacts These areas are closed to all fishing for a period of four years in order to evaluate the effects of fishing on spawning aggregations

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The Florida Middle Grounds HAPC was estabshylished in 1984 to protect this deeper coral habitat Located approximately 70 nautical miles to the northwest of Clearwater FL the HAPC prohibits the use of several types of commercial gear including fish traps to protect and maintain fish stocks The HAPC is under the management of NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Manageshyment Council

Gaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and Conservation CapacityCapacityCapacityCapacityCapacity

Current monitoring in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary has largely focused on detecting changes within the fully protected zones and determining Sanctuary-wide status and trends of water quality seagrasses and corals Some trends are beginning to show providing a source of hypotheses to be tested Continued monitoring is critical These data will facilitate detecting long-term changes in communities both locally and ecosystem-wide

Reef monitoring programs in southeastern Florida are limited by a near total lack of comprehensive inventories and assessments of marine communishyties in this area Baseline assessments with monishytoring programs at sites located off each of the counties in the region are needed The first step should be to develop a functional classification of the reef habitats For effective selection of monitorshying sites this classification should incorporate criteria to ensure that both representative habitats and unique sites receive attention

The databases of reef fish in Broward Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties are based on visual survey techniques that can overlook a substantial number of cryptic species (as many as 37 in a recent Caribbean survey Collette et al 2001) Thus intensive and broad-scale monitoring needs to be done to obtain a complete picture of the resident ichthyofauna In addition the fish below 30 m are poorly characterized and exploited by recreational fishers

Likewise the reef fish communities from seagrass and mangrove habitats of Port Everglades and the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) remain a mystery Given the high level of human activity in the area and since these are potentially important nursery sites (Leis 1991 Fig 164) there is need for immediate clarification

A formal monitoring program should also be instituted in the Florida Middle Grounds Ideally stations would be established based on the sites surveyed by Hopkins et al in 1977 The ability to compare the arearsquos current status with previous data would be helpful in detecting changes over time To that end video transects and methods comparable to the 1977 work should be employed

The reefs along the southeast coast and the Middle Grounds banks should be fully mapped The data should be consistent with state national and international programs and should be rapidly disseminated for public consumption A regional archive should be established

Government Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws and LegislationLegislationLegislationLegislationLegislation

When President George Bush signed the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act into law in 1990 the FKNMS became the first national marine sanctuary designated by Congress Its authority along with the 12 other national marine sanctuaries is established under the Nashytional Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) of 1972 16 USC 1431 et seq as amended The Sanctuary is administered by NOAA under the Department of Commerce and is managed jointly with the State of Florida under a co-trustee agreement because over half of the waters of the Sanctuary are state territorial waters The co-trustee agreement comshymits the Sanctuary to a periodic review of the management plan the first review will be in 2002

In 1997 a comprehensive management plan for the Sanctuary was implemented It contains ten action plans and associated strategies for conserving protecting and managing the significant natural and cultural resources of the Florida Keys marine environment

Largely non-regulatory the strategies educate citizens and visitors use volunteers to build stewardship for local marine resources appropriately mark channels and waterways install and maintain mooring buoys for vessel use survey submerged cultural resources and protect water quality As described previously the Sanctuary management plan also designated five types of marine zones to reduce pressures in heavily used areas protect critical habitats and species and separate use conflicts

117117117117117117117117117117

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A total of 24 fully protected zones were impleshymented in 1997 and 2001 covering approximately 6 of the Sanctuary but protect 65 of shallow bank reef habitats and about 10 of coral resourshyces Most of the smaller zones (sanctuary preservashytion areas) are located along the offshore reef tracts and encompass the most heavily used spur and groove coral formations In these areas all conshysumptive activities are prohibited The effectiveshyness of these zones and other biological and chemshyical parameters are monitored under the Research and Monitoring Action Plan of the Sanctuary

Commercial fishing remains one of the largest industries in the Florida Keys (Fig 165) but it is regulated heavily by State and Federal fishery management councils Regulations for most commercial invertebrates and finfish include annual catch quotas closed seasons gear catch size restrictions The State also collects landing inforshymation on approximately 400 kinds of fish inverteshybrates and plants to track trends in catch and to evaluate regulations (DoC 1996)

The reefs of southeastern Florida are in State territorial waters and protected from some impacts by State statutes and regulations These include

fishing regulations dredging permits and a statute protecting corals from harvest sale or destruction Broward County has a small boat mooring program intended to reduce anchoring impacts on reefs

Conclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and Recommendations

Overall immediate action is needed to curtail alarming declines in coral reef condition throughshyout Florida Local communities that are culturally and economically supported by coral reefs must employ management strategies and focus on alleviating controllable human impacts For example in southeastern Florida the environmenshytal impacts of fisheries dredging vessel anchorshyages freshwater management and nutrient input should receive attention to maximize protection to the reefs in this area In the Florida Keys solutions that address wastewater and stormwater problems habitat degradation and overfishing must be pursued

At the regional level elected officials and policy-makers should work to conserve and protect watersheds reduce emissions and decrease energy use Citizens elected officials and MPA managers must work together to improve water quality

minimize physical impacts to corals Figure 165 Both shrimp (A) and lobster (B) fisheries are important industries and seagrasses employ sustainablein South Florida (Photo Paige Gill FKNMS and NOAA)

fishing practices reduce pollution and save energy

Globally strict air pollution stanshydards must be adopted carbon dioxide emissions reduced and renewable energy technologies employed to curb global warming trends International policies on global climate change should be adopted and implemented Compreshyhensive coral reef protection will ultimately require both proactive local steps and engaging leaders regionally and globally on climate change issuesAAAAA BBBBB

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search foundations environmental organizations and independent researchers The Sanctuary facilishytates and coordinates research by registering researchers through a permitting system recruiting institutions for priority research activities overseeshying data management and disseminating findings to the scientific community and the public

The Water Quality Protection Program (WQPP) funded by the USEPA and recently NOAA is the most comprehensive long-term monitoring proshygram in the Florida Keys Begun in 1994 it monishytors three components water quality seagrasses and coralshardbottom communities Reef fishes spiny lobster queen conch and benthic cover are also monitored throughout the Sanctuary

Water quality has been monitored at 154 fixed stations since 1995 Water samples are collected for measuring salinity temperature dissolved oxygen turbidity relative fluorescence and light attenuashytion Water chemistry includes nitrate nitrite ammonium dissolved inorganic nitrogen and soluble reactive phosphate Concentrations of total organic nitrogen total organic carbon total phosshyphorus and silicate are also measured along with chlorophyll a and alkaline phosphatase activity (Jones and Boyer 2001)

Seagrass monitoring under the WQPP identifies the distribution and abundance of seagrasses within the Sanctuary and tracks changes over time Quarterly monitoring is conducted at 30 fixed stations and annual monitoring occurs at 206 to 336 randomly-selected sites (Fourqurean et al 2001 WQPP 2002) Permanent stations are co-located at 30 of the water quality monitoring sites to help discern relationships between seagrass health and water quality This long-term monitoring is also invalushyable for determining human impacts on the Sanctshyuaryrsquos seagrass communities

The Coral ReefHardbottom Monitoring Project (CRMP 2002) tracks the status and trends of coral and hardbottom communities throughout the Sanctshyuary (Jaap et al 2001 Fig 160) The projectrsquos 43 permanent sites include hardbottom patch reef shallow offshore reef and deep offshore reef comshymunities Biodiversity coral condition and coral cover are recorded annually at four stations within each site for a total of 172 stations

In addition to the WQPP a Zone Monitoring Program monitors the 24 discrete marine reserves

located within the Sanctuary Implemented in 1997 the goal of the program is to determine whether these fully protected zones effectively protect marine biodiversity and enhance human values related to the Sanctuary Parameters measured include the abundance and size of fish inverteshybrates and algae as well as economic and aesthetic values of the Sanctuary and compliance with regulations This program monitors changes in ecosystem structure (size and number of inverteshybrates fish corals and other organisms) and function (coral recruitment herbivory predation) Human uses of zoned areas are also tracked

Figure 160 Photo-monitoring of corals within the FKNMS (Photo Mike White)

Lastly continuous monitoring of certain physical parameters of seawater and ocean condition is recorded by instruments (C-MAN stations) installed along the Florida Reef Tract as part of the SEAKEYS program (SEAKEYS 2002) There are six C-MAN stations from Fowey Rocks to the Dry Tortugas and one in Florida Bay These stations gather data and periodically transmit it to satellites where it is converted to near real-time reports available on the Internet For the past ten years the Sanctuary has maintained a network of 27 thermographs that record water temperature every two hours located both inshore and offshore throughout the Keys

As baselines are being documented Sanctuary managers are developing a comprehensive science plan outlining specific management objectives and their associated monitoring and research needs This is an evolving adaptive management apshyproach to help ensure management decisions are supported by the best available science The science plan will identify high-priority research and monitoring projects to help fill gaps in understandshy

113113113113113113113113113113

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Figure 161 Coral reef monitoring along Floridarsquos southeastshyern coast (Photo NCRI)

ing the ecosystem and its responses to management actions

Recognizing the importance of an ecosystem approach to management the Sanctuary engages agencies working on the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan to achieve appropriate restoration goals for the entire ecosystem including coral reefs and seagrasses Active monitorshying of natural resources is a Sanctuary priority so that changes occurring as a result of water management regimes and restoration can be detected

Along Floridarsquos southeastshyern coast much of the present monitoring origishynated as impact and mitigation studies for projects that had adverse impacts to specific sites (dredging ship groundings pipeline and cable deployments and beach renourishment) In the past such studies have been of limited duration (one to three years) and the focus has been largely on beach renourishshyment restoration for grounding impacts and some baseline data collection from reference areas

Monitoring has begun in Broward County at 23 fixed 30-m2 sites for environmental conditions (sedimentation quantities and rates water quality and temperature) and coral sponge and fish abunshydance andor cover (Fig 161) There have been a number of discrete fish surveys on the reefs of Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties most of which have been associated with beach renourishshyment projects or artificial reef management

(Lindeman and Snyder 1999 Light 2001 C Avila pers comm)

However there is a concerted effort of NSUNCRI scientists to complete a baseline survey of reef fishes off Broward County (Ettinger et al 2001 Harttung et al 2001) Initiated in 1998 this NOAA-funded survey is recording fishes on the edges and crests of the three major reef lines At this time more than 600 point-counts have been completed and the full survey will be completed by mid-2002 In addition during summer 2001 NSUNCRI scientists inventoried fish on the first 30 m of the inshore reef at 158-m intervals for 25 km of shoreline using multiple visual techniques (point-count 30 m transects and 20 min random swim) (Baron et al 2001) Broward County now has a database comprised of more than 1000 visual censuses from the shore to 30 m for reef fish

Researchers at NSUNCRI are also currently involved in a multivariate hypothesis-driven study that looks at the interacshytion of fish transplanted corals coral recruits and potential coral attractants or optimal substrates (Fig 162) Research variables include four potenshytially different fish assemshyblages (determined by reef complexity) and biofilm and coral recruitment on settlement plates of made of concrete concrete and iron concrete and

quarry rock or concrete and coral transplants Results of this three-year study should yield information critical to reef restoration

The Florida Middle Grounds do not have any onshygoing formal monitoring programs at this time Overall the development of a comprehensive monitoring program for the reefs of southeastern Florida and the Florida Middle Grounds would provide a better understanding of current condishytions for fish and corals in these regions and would promote more effective management

MPAs and Fully Protected ReservesMPAs and Fully Protected ReservesMPAs and Fully Protected ReservesMPAs and Fully Protected ReservesMPAs and Fully Protected Reserves ndash As with monitoring assessment and research programs coral reef conservation and management through the designation and implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs) varies widely The largest and best-known MPA in Florida the Florida Keys

Figure 162 Detail of an artificial reef that is being used by NCRI to study reef restoration techniques (Photo NCRI)

114114114114114114114114114114

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National Marine Sanctuary was designated in 1990 placing 9850 km2 of coastal waters and 1381 km2 of coral reef area under NOAA and State of Florida management Immediate protective measures were instituted as a result of Sanctuary designation including prohibitions on oil and hydrocarbon exploration mining and otherwise altering the seabed and restrictions on large ship traffic Coral reefs were

Tortugas Ecological Reserve was implemented (Fig 163) It is now the largest of the Sanctuaryrsquos fully protected zones Located in the westernmost portion of the Florida Reef Tract the Reserve conserves important deep-water reef resources and fish communities unique to this region of the Florida Keys Together with the other fully proshytected zones the Tortugas Ecological Reserve

increased the total protected protected by prohibiting area of coral reefs within theAAAAA anchoring on coral touching Sanctuary to 10 coral and harvesting or The Tortugas Ecologicalcollecting coral and lsquolive Reserve is also significantrockrsquo To address water because it adjoins a 1578 km2

quality concerns discharges Research Natural Area in thefrom within the Sanctuary Dry Tortugas National Park aand areas outside the Sanctushy zone where shallow seagrassary that could potentially coral sand and mangroveenter and affect local re- communities are now con-sources were also restricted served Anchoring is prohib-BBBBBIn addition in 1997 the ited in the Research Natural Sanctuary instituted a net- Area and scientific research work of marine zones to and educational activities address a variety of manage- consistent with management ment objectives Five types of this zone require advance of zones were designed and permits from the National Park implemented to achieve Service To protect important biodiversity conservation fish nursery and spawning wildlife protection and the sites no fishing is allowed in separation of incompatible uses among other goals Three of the zone types (sanctuary preservation areas ecological reserves and special useresearchshyonly areas) are fully proshytected areas or marine reserves where lobstering fishing spearfishing shell collecting and all other consumptive activities are prohibited

The 1997 zoning plan established 23 discrete fully protected zones that encompass 65 of the Sanctuaryrsquos shallow coral reef habitats The largest zone at that time the 308 km2 Western Sambo Ecological Reserve protects offshore reefs as well as other critical habitats including mangrove fringe seagrasses productive hardbottom commushynities and patch reefs In July 2001 the 5179 km2

CCCCC

Figure 163 Recently established MPAs located offshore of Florida A Tortugas Ecological Reserve B Madison-Swanson Spawning Site and C Steamboat Lumps Spawning Site (Photos NOAA Photo Library and NPS)

the Research Natural Area Wildlife viewing snorkeling diving boating and sightshyseeing are managed in this zone primarily through commercial tour guides Together the Sanctuaryrsquos Tortugas Ecological Reserve and the National Parkrsquos Research Natural Area fully protect near-shore to deep reef habitats of the Tortugas region and form the largest permashynent marine reserve in the United States

Overall the Sanctuary management regime uses an ecosystem-wide approach to comprehensively address the variety of impacts pressures and threats to Florida Keys marine ecosystems It is only through this inclusive approach that the comshyplex problems facing coral reefs can be adequately addressed

115115115115115115115115115115

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Figure 164 Mangrove prop roots serve as important nursery sites for certain fish species (Photo Matt Kendall)

Biscayne National Park encompasses 683 km2 of waters just south of Miami including the majority of Biscayne Bay and a substantial portion of the northern reef tract with 291 km2 of coral reefs The Park is renowned for its productive coastal bay nearshore and offshore habitats including islands mangrove shorelines seagrass beds hardbottom communities and coral reefs which provide important recreational opportunities and spectacushylar scenic areas The National Park Service is concerned about degradation of Park resources in the face of coastal development increases in the number of recreational boats visiting the Park and fishing pressure The Park is revising its General Management Plan to provide for management zones that would give greater protection to Park resources including Natural Resources Reserve areas where fish nurseries and spawning habitats would be protected from fishing and disturbance In addition the Park is developing a cooperative plan with the State of Florida to adopt a coordishynated and seamless approach to protecting and restoring fishery resources both within and outside Park boundaries

The Key West National Wildlife Refuge and the Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge overlap with portions of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in the backcountry of the lower Keys and an extensive area around the Marquesas Islands between Key West and the Dry Tortugas The Refuges established in 1908 and 1938 respecshytively contain over 1619 km2 (400000 acres) of lush seagrass beds reef tract patch reefs hard-bottom community and pristine mangrove islets A cooperative agreement with the State of Florida on the management of these submerged lands created

a number of wildlife management zones in the Refuges These zones direct human activities away from sensitive wildlife and habitats and help to ensure their continued conservation The US Fish and Wildlife Service as administrators of the National Wildlife Refuge System works cooperashytively with the State and the Sanctuary for the protection of these sites

Of the dozen or so State Parks in Southeast Florida two are considered marine One of the oldest marine parks in the world (acquisition began in 1959) the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is located in Monroe County on Key Largo It covers 249 km2 (61531 acres) and has 461 km2 of coral reefs seagrass beds and mangrove swamps Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park which includes Shell Key is located in Monroe County west of Islamorada The Parkrsquos submerged habitats are located in Florida Bay and the Atlantic Ocean and include fringing mangrove forest extensive seagrass beds patch reef and sand flats

Reefs off the southeastern coast and the banks of the Middle Grounds have some protection through various MPAs but neither region is as comprehenshysively protected tas the Florida Keys North of Vero Beach the Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) was established in 1984 and is currently under the management of NOAArsquos National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council The HAPC runs along the central Florida eastern coast from Ft Pierce to Cape Canaveral and protects deep-water pinnacles of ivory coral (Oculina spp) This habitat has been identified as easily impacted by fishing activities including destruction by dredges trawlers and long-line fishing gear

The Madison-Swanson and Steamboat Lumps Spawning Sites were established in June 2000 under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act and will be manshyaged by NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council These MPAs located offshyshore on the West Florida shelf were created to protect spawning aggregations of gag (Mycteroshyperca microlepis) as well as other reef and pelagic fish species from fishing activities Deepwater habitats are also protected from fishery-related impacts These areas are closed to all fishing for a period of four years in order to evaluate the effects of fishing on spawning aggregations

116116116116116116116116116116

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The Florida Middle Grounds HAPC was estabshylished in 1984 to protect this deeper coral habitat Located approximately 70 nautical miles to the northwest of Clearwater FL the HAPC prohibits the use of several types of commercial gear including fish traps to protect and maintain fish stocks The HAPC is under the management of NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Manageshyment Council

Gaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and Conservation CapacityCapacityCapacityCapacityCapacity

Current monitoring in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary has largely focused on detecting changes within the fully protected zones and determining Sanctuary-wide status and trends of water quality seagrasses and corals Some trends are beginning to show providing a source of hypotheses to be tested Continued monitoring is critical These data will facilitate detecting long-term changes in communities both locally and ecosystem-wide

Reef monitoring programs in southeastern Florida are limited by a near total lack of comprehensive inventories and assessments of marine communishyties in this area Baseline assessments with monishytoring programs at sites located off each of the counties in the region are needed The first step should be to develop a functional classification of the reef habitats For effective selection of monitorshying sites this classification should incorporate criteria to ensure that both representative habitats and unique sites receive attention

The databases of reef fish in Broward Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties are based on visual survey techniques that can overlook a substantial number of cryptic species (as many as 37 in a recent Caribbean survey Collette et al 2001) Thus intensive and broad-scale monitoring needs to be done to obtain a complete picture of the resident ichthyofauna In addition the fish below 30 m are poorly characterized and exploited by recreational fishers

Likewise the reef fish communities from seagrass and mangrove habitats of Port Everglades and the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) remain a mystery Given the high level of human activity in the area and since these are potentially important nursery sites (Leis 1991 Fig 164) there is need for immediate clarification

A formal monitoring program should also be instituted in the Florida Middle Grounds Ideally stations would be established based on the sites surveyed by Hopkins et al in 1977 The ability to compare the arearsquos current status with previous data would be helpful in detecting changes over time To that end video transects and methods comparable to the 1977 work should be employed

The reefs along the southeast coast and the Middle Grounds banks should be fully mapped The data should be consistent with state national and international programs and should be rapidly disseminated for public consumption A regional archive should be established

Government Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws and LegislationLegislationLegislationLegislationLegislation

When President George Bush signed the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act into law in 1990 the FKNMS became the first national marine sanctuary designated by Congress Its authority along with the 12 other national marine sanctuaries is established under the Nashytional Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) of 1972 16 USC 1431 et seq as amended The Sanctuary is administered by NOAA under the Department of Commerce and is managed jointly with the State of Florida under a co-trustee agreement because over half of the waters of the Sanctuary are state territorial waters The co-trustee agreement comshymits the Sanctuary to a periodic review of the management plan the first review will be in 2002

In 1997 a comprehensive management plan for the Sanctuary was implemented It contains ten action plans and associated strategies for conserving protecting and managing the significant natural and cultural resources of the Florida Keys marine environment

Largely non-regulatory the strategies educate citizens and visitors use volunteers to build stewardship for local marine resources appropriately mark channels and waterways install and maintain mooring buoys for vessel use survey submerged cultural resources and protect water quality As described previously the Sanctuary management plan also designated five types of marine zones to reduce pressures in heavily used areas protect critical habitats and species and separate use conflicts

117117117117117117117117117117

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A

A total of 24 fully protected zones were impleshymented in 1997 and 2001 covering approximately 6 of the Sanctuary but protect 65 of shallow bank reef habitats and about 10 of coral resourshyces Most of the smaller zones (sanctuary preservashytion areas) are located along the offshore reef tracts and encompass the most heavily used spur and groove coral formations In these areas all conshysumptive activities are prohibited The effectiveshyness of these zones and other biological and chemshyical parameters are monitored under the Research and Monitoring Action Plan of the Sanctuary

Commercial fishing remains one of the largest industries in the Florida Keys (Fig 165) but it is regulated heavily by State and Federal fishery management councils Regulations for most commercial invertebrates and finfish include annual catch quotas closed seasons gear catch size restrictions The State also collects landing inforshymation on approximately 400 kinds of fish inverteshybrates and plants to track trends in catch and to evaluate regulations (DoC 1996)

The reefs of southeastern Florida are in State territorial waters and protected from some impacts by State statutes and regulations These include

fishing regulations dredging permits and a statute protecting corals from harvest sale or destruction Broward County has a small boat mooring program intended to reduce anchoring impacts on reefs

Conclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and Recommendations

Overall immediate action is needed to curtail alarming declines in coral reef condition throughshyout Florida Local communities that are culturally and economically supported by coral reefs must employ management strategies and focus on alleviating controllable human impacts For example in southeastern Florida the environmenshytal impacts of fisheries dredging vessel anchorshyages freshwater management and nutrient input should receive attention to maximize protection to the reefs in this area In the Florida Keys solutions that address wastewater and stormwater problems habitat degradation and overfishing must be pursued

At the regional level elected officials and policy-makers should work to conserve and protect watersheds reduce emissions and decrease energy use Citizens elected officials and MPA managers must work together to improve water quality

minimize physical impacts to corals Figure 165 Both shrimp (A) and lobster (B) fisheries are important industries and seagrasses employ sustainablein South Florida (Photo Paige Gill FKNMS and NOAA)

fishing practices reduce pollution and save energy

Globally strict air pollution stanshydards must be adopted carbon dioxide emissions reduced and renewable energy technologies employed to curb global warming trends International policies on global climate change should be adopted and implemented Compreshyhensive coral reef protection will ultimately require both proactive local steps and engaging leaders regionally and globally on climate change issuesAAAAA BBBBB

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Figure 161 Coral reef monitoring along Floridarsquos southeastshyern coast (Photo NCRI)

ing the ecosystem and its responses to management actions

Recognizing the importance of an ecosystem approach to management the Sanctuary engages agencies working on the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan to achieve appropriate restoration goals for the entire ecosystem including coral reefs and seagrasses Active monitorshying of natural resources is a Sanctuary priority so that changes occurring as a result of water management regimes and restoration can be detected

Along Floridarsquos southeastshyern coast much of the present monitoring origishynated as impact and mitigation studies for projects that had adverse impacts to specific sites (dredging ship groundings pipeline and cable deployments and beach renourishment) In the past such studies have been of limited duration (one to three years) and the focus has been largely on beach renourishshyment restoration for grounding impacts and some baseline data collection from reference areas

Monitoring has begun in Broward County at 23 fixed 30-m2 sites for environmental conditions (sedimentation quantities and rates water quality and temperature) and coral sponge and fish abunshydance andor cover (Fig 161) There have been a number of discrete fish surveys on the reefs of Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties most of which have been associated with beach renourishshyment projects or artificial reef management

(Lindeman and Snyder 1999 Light 2001 C Avila pers comm)

However there is a concerted effort of NSUNCRI scientists to complete a baseline survey of reef fishes off Broward County (Ettinger et al 2001 Harttung et al 2001) Initiated in 1998 this NOAA-funded survey is recording fishes on the edges and crests of the three major reef lines At this time more than 600 point-counts have been completed and the full survey will be completed by mid-2002 In addition during summer 2001 NSUNCRI scientists inventoried fish on the first 30 m of the inshore reef at 158-m intervals for 25 km of shoreline using multiple visual techniques (point-count 30 m transects and 20 min random swim) (Baron et al 2001) Broward County now has a database comprised of more than 1000 visual censuses from the shore to 30 m for reef fish

Researchers at NSUNCRI are also currently involved in a multivariate hypothesis-driven study that looks at the interacshytion of fish transplanted corals coral recruits and potential coral attractants or optimal substrates (Fig 162) Research variables include four potenshytially different fish assemshyblages (determined by reef complexity) and biofilm and coral recruitment on settlement plates of made of concrete concrete and iron concrete and

quarry rock or concrete and coral transplants Results of this three-year study should yield information critical to reef restoration

The Florida Middle Grounds do not have any onshygoing formal monitoring programs at this time Overall the development of a comprehensive monitoring program for the reefs of southeastern Florida and the Florida Middle Grounds would provide a better understanding of current condishytions for fish and corals in these regions and would promote more effective management

MPAs and Fully Protected ReservesMPAs and Fully Protected ReservesMPAs and Fully Protected ReservesMPAs and Fully Protected ReservesMPAs and Fully Protected Reserves ndash As with monitoring assessment and research programs coral reef conservation and management through the designation and implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs) varies widely The largest and best-known MPA in Florida the Florida Keys

Figure 162 Detail of an artificial reef that is being used by NCRI to study reef restoration techniques (Photo NCRI)

114114114114114114114114114114

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National Marine Sanctuary was designated in 1990 placing 9850 km2 of coastal waters and 1381 km2 of coral reef area under NOAA and State of Florida management Immediate protective measures were instituted as a result of Sanctuary designation including prohibitions on oil and hydrocarbon exploration mining and otherwise altering the seabed and restrictions on large ship traffic Coral reefs were

Tortugas Ecological Reserve was implemented (Fig 163) It is now the largest of the Sanctuaryrsquos fully protected zones Located in the westernmost portion of the Florida Reef Tract the Reserve conserves important deep-water reef resources and fish communities unique to this region of the Florida Keys Together with the other fully proshytected zones the Tortugas Ecological Reserve

increased the total protected protected by prohibiting area of coral reefs within theAAAAA anchoring on coral touching Sanctuary to 10 coral and harvesting or The Tortugas Ecologicalcollecting coral and lsquolive Reserve is also significantrockrsquo To address water because it adjoins a 1578 km2

quality concerns discharges Research Natural Area in thefrom within the Sanctuary Dry Tortugas National Park aand areas outside the Sanctushy zone where shallow seagrassary that could potentially coral sand and mangroveenter and affect local re- communities are now con-sources were also restricted served Anchoring is prohib-BBBBBIn addition in 1997 the ited in the Research Natural Sanctuary instituted a net- Area and scientific research work of marine zones to and educational activities address a variety of manage- consistent with management ment objectives Five types of this zone require advance of zones were designed and permits from the National Park implemented to achieve Service To protect important biodiversity conservation fish nursery and spawning wildlife protection and the sites no fishing is allowed in separation of incompatible uses among other goals Three of the zone types (sanctuary preservation areas ecological reserves and special useresearchshyonly areas) are fully proshytected areas or marine reserves where lobstering fishing spearfishing shell collecting and all other consumptive activities are prohibited

The 1997 zoning plan established 23 discrete fully protected zones that encompass 65 of the Sanctuaryrsquos shallow coral reef habitats The largest zone at that time the 308 km2 Western Sambo Ecological Reserve protects offshore reefs as well as other critical habitats including mangrove fringe seagrasses productive hardbottom commushynities and patch reefs In July 2001 the 5179 km2

CCCCC

Figure 163 Recently established MPAs located offshore of Florida A Tortugas Ecological Reserve B Madison-Swanson Spawning Site and C Steamboat Lumps Spawning Site (Photos NOAA Photo Library and NPS)

the Research Natural Area Wildlife viewing snorkeling diving boating and sightshyseeing are managed in this zone primarily through commercial tour guides Together the Sanctuaryrsquos Tortugas Ecological Reserve and the National Parkrsquos Research Natural Area fully protect near-shore to deep reef habitats of the Tortugas region and form the largest permashynent marine reserve in the United States

Overall the Sanctuary management regime uses an ecosystem-wide approach to comprehensively address the variety of impacts pressures and threats to Florida Keys marine ecosystems It is only through this inclusive approach that the comshyplex problems facing coral reefs can be adequately addressed

115115115115115115115115115115

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Figure 164 Mangrove prop roots serve as important nursery sites for certain fish species (Photo Matt Kendall)

Biscayne National Park encompasses 683 km2 of waters just south of Miami including the majority of Biscayne Bay and a substantial portion of the northern reef tract with 291 km2 of coral reefs The Park is renowned for its productive coastal bay nearshore and offshore habitats including islands mangrove shorelines seagrass beds hardbottom communities and coral reefs which provide important recreational opportunities and spectacushylar scenic areas The National Park Service is concerned about degradation of Park resources in the face of coastal development increases in the number of recreational boats visiting the Park and fishing pressure The Park is revising its General Management Plan to provide for management zones that would give greater protection to Park resources including Natural Resources Reserve areas where fish nurseries and spawning habitats would be protected from fishing and disturbance In addition the Park is developing a cooperative plan with the State of Florida to adopt a coordishynated and seamless approach to protecting and restoring fishery resources both within and outside Park boundaries

The Key West National Wildlife Refuge and the Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge overlap with portions of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in the backcountry of the lower Keys and an extensive area around the Marquesas Islands between Key West and the Dry Tortugas The Refuges established in 1908 and 1938 respecshytively contain over 1619 km2 (400000 acres) of lush seagrass beds reef tract patch reefs hard-bottom community and pristine mangrove islets A cooperative agreement with the State of Florida on the management of these submerged lands created

a number of wildlife management zones in the Refuges These zones direct human activities away from sensitive wildlife and habitats and help to ensure their continued conservation The US Fish and Wildlife Service as administrators of the National Wildlife Refuge System works cooperashytively with the State and the Sanctuary for the protection of these sites

Of the dozen or so State Parks in Southeast Florida two are considered marine One of the oldest marine parks in the world (acquisition began in 1959) the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is located in Monroe County on Key Largo It covers 249 km2 (61531 acres) and has 461 km2 of coral reefs seagrass beds and mangrove swamps Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park which includes Shell Key is located in Monroe County west of Islamorada The Parkrsquos submerged habitats are located in Florida Bay and the Atlantic Ocean and include fringing mangrove forest extensive seagrass beds patch reef and sand flats

Reefs off the southeastern coast and the banks of the Middle Grounds have some protection through various MPAs but neither region is as comprehenshysively protected tas the Florida Keys North of Vero Beach the Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) was established in 1984 and is currently under the management of NOAArsquos National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council The HAPC runs along the central Florida eastern coast from Ft Pierce to Cape Canaveral and protects deep-water pinnacles of ivory coral (Oculina spp) This habitat has been identified as easily impacted by fishing activities including destruction by dredges trawlers and long-line fishing gear

The Madison-Swanson and Steamboat Lumps Spawning Sites were established in June 2000 under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act and will be manshyaged by NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council These MPAs located offshyshore on the West Florida shelf were created to protect spawning aggregations of gag (Mycteroshyperca microlepis) as well as other reef and pelagic fish species from fishing activities Deepwater habitats are also protected from fishery-related impacts These areas are closed to all fishing for a period of four years in order to evaluate the effects of fishing on spawning aggregations

116116116116116116116116116116

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The Florida Middle Grounds HAPC was estabshylished in 1984 to protect this deeper coral habitat Located approximately 70 nautical miles to the northwest of Clearwater FL the HAPC prohibits the use of several types of commercial gear including fish traps to protect and maintain fish stocks The HAPC is under the management of NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Manageshyment Council

Gaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and Conservation CapacityCapacityCapacityCapacityCapacity

Current monitoring in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary has largely focused on detecting changes within the fully protected zones and determining Sanctuary-wide status and trends of water quality seagrasses and corals Some trends are beginning to show providing a source of hypotheses to be tested Continued monitoring is critical These data will facilitate detecting long-term changes in communities both locally and ecosystem-wide

Reef monitoring programs in southeastern Florida are limited by a near total lack of comprehensive inventories and assessments of marine communishyties in this area Baseline assessments with monishytoring programs at sites located off each of the counties in the region are needed The first step should be to develop a functional classification of the reef habitats For effective selection of monitorshying sites this classification should incorporate criteria to ensure that both representative habitats and unique sites receive attention

The databases of reef fish in Broward Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties are based on visual survey techniques that can overlook a substantial number of cryptic species (as many as 37 in a recent Caribbean survey Collette et al 2001) Thus intensive and broad-scale monitoring needs to be done to obtain a complete picture of the resident ichthyofauna In addition the fish below 30 m are poorly characterized and exploited by recreational fishers

Likewise the reef fish communities from seagrass and mangrove habitats of Port Everglades and the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) remain a mystery Given the high level of human activity in the area and since these are potentially important nursery sites (Leis 1991 Fig 164) there is need for immediate clarification

A formal monitoring program should also be instituted in the Florida Middle Grounds Ideally stations would be established based on the sites surveyed by Hopkins et al in 1977 The ability to compare the arearsquos current status with previous data would be helpful in detecting changes over time To that end video transects and methods comparable to the 1977 work should be employed

The reefs along the southeast coast and the Middle Grounds banks should be fully mapped The data should be consistent with state national and international programs and should be rapidly disseminated for public consumption A regional archive should be established

Government Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws and LegislationLegislationLegislationLegislationLegislation

When President George Bush signed the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act into law in 1990 the FKNMS became the first national marine sanctuary designated by Congress Its authority along with the 12 other national marine sanctuaries is established under the Nashytional Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) of 1972 16 USC 1431 et seq as amended The Sanctuary is administered by NOAA under the Department of Commerce and is managed jointly with the State of Florida under a co-trustee agreement because over half of the waters of the Sanctuary are state territorial waters The co-trustee agreement comshymits the Sanctuary to a periodic review of the management plan the first review will be in 2002

In 1997 a comprehensive management plan for the Sanctuary was implemented It contains ten action plans and associated strategies for conserving protecting and managing the significant natural and cultural resources of the Florida Keys marine environment

Largely non-regulatory the strategies educate citizens and visitors use volunteers to build stewardship for local marine resources appropriately mark channels and waterways install and maintain mooring buoys for vessel use survey submerged cultural resources and protect water quality As described previously the Sanctuary management plan also designated five types of marine zones to reduce pressures in heavily used areas protect critical habitats and species and separate use conflicts

117117117117117117117117117117

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A total of 24 fully protected zones were impleshymented in 1997 and 2001 covering approximately 6 of the Sanctuary but protect 65 of shallow bank reef habitats and about 10 of coral resourshyces Most of the smaller zones (sanctuary preservashytion areas) are located along the offshore reef tracts and encompass the most heavily used spur and groove coral formations In these areas all conshysumptive activities are prohibited The effectiveshyness of these zones and other biological and chemshyical parameters are monitored under the Research and Monitoring Action Plan of the Sanctuary

Commercial fishing remains one of the largest industries in the Florida Keys (Fig 165) but it is regulated heavily by State and Federal fishery management councils Regulations for most commercial invertebrates and finfish include annual catch quotas closed seasons gear catch size restrictions The State also collects landing inforshymation on approximately 400 kinds of fish inverteshybrates and plants to track trends in catch and to evaluate regulations (DoC 1996)

The reefs of southeastern Florida are in State territorial waters and protected from some impacts by State statutes and regulations These include

fishing regulations dredging permits and a statute protecting corals from harvest sale or destruction Broward County has a small boat mooring program intended to reduce anchoring impacts on reefs

Conclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and Recommendations

Overall immediate action is needed to curtail alarming declines in coral reef condition throughshyout Florida Local communities that are culturally and economically supported by coral reefs must employ management strategies and focus on alleviating controllable human impacts For example in southeastern Florida the environmenshytal impacts of fisheries dredging vessel anchorshyages freshwater management and nutrient input should receive attention to maximize protection to the reefs in this area In the Florida Keys solutions that address wastewater and stormwater problems habitat degradation and overfishing must be pursued

At the regional level elected officials and policy-makers should work to conserve and protect watersheds reduce emissions and decrease energy use Citizens elected officials and MPA managers must work together to improve water quality

minimize physical impacts to corals Figure 165 Both shrimp (A) and lobster (B) fisheries are important industries and seagrasses employ sustainablein South Florida (Photo Paige Gill FKNMS and NOAA)

fishing practices reduce pollution and save energy

Globally strict air pollution stanshydards must be adopted carbon dioxide emissions reduced and renewable energy technologies employed to curb global warming trends International policies on global climate change should be adopted and implemented Compreshyhensive coral reef protection will ultimately require both proactive local steps and engaging leaders regionally and globally on climate change issuesAAAAA BBBBB

118118118118118118118118118118

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National Marine Sanctuary was designated in 1990 placing 9850 km2 of coastal waters and 1381 km2 of coral reef area under NOAA and State of Florida management Immediate protective measures were instituted as a result of Sanctuary designation including prohibitions on oil and hydrocarbon exploration mining and otherwise altering the seabed and restrictions on large ship traffic Coral reefs were

Tortugas Ecological Reserve was implemented (Fig 163) It is now the largest of the Sanctuaryrsquos fully protected zones Located in the westernmost portion of the Florida Reef Tract the Reserve conserves important deep-water reef resources and fish communities unique to this region of the Florida Keys Together with the other fully proshytected zones the Tortugas Ecological Reserve

increased the total protected protected by prohibiting area of coral reefs within theAAAAA anchoring on coral touching Sanctuary to 10 coral and harvesting or The Tortugas Ecologicalcollecting coral and lsquolive Reserve is also significantrockrsquo To address water because it adjoins a 1578 km2

quality concerns discharges Research Natural Area in thefrom within the Sanctuary Dry Tortugas National Park aand areas outside the Sanctushy zone where shallow seagrassary that could potentially coral sand and mangroveenter and affect local re- communities are now con-sources were also restricted served Anchoring is prohib-BBBBBIn addition in 1997 the ited in the Research Natural Sanctuary instituted a net- Area and scientific research work of marine zones to and educational activities address a variety of manage- consistent with management ment objectives Five types of this zone require advance of zones were designed and permits from the National Park implemented to achieve Service To protect important biodiversity conservation fish nursery and spawning wildlife protection and the sites no fishing is allowed in separation of incompatible uses among other goals Three of the zone types (sanctuary preservation areas ecological reserves and special useresearchshyonly areas) are fully proshytected areas or marine reserves where lobstering fishing spearfishing shell collecting and all other consumptive activities are prohibited

The 1997 zoning plan established 23 discrete fully protected zones that encompass 65 of the Sanctuaryrsquos shallow coral reef habitats The largest zone at that time the 308 km2 Western Sambo Ecological Reserve protects offshore reefs as well as other critical habitats including mangrove fringe seagrasses productive hardbottom commushynities and patch reefs In July 2001 the 5179 km2

CCCCC

Figure 163 Recently established MPAs located offshore of Florida A Tortugas Ecological Reserve B Madison-Swanson Spawning Site and C Steamboat Lumps Spawning Site (Photos NOAA Photo Library and NPS)

the Research Natural Area Wildlife viewing snorkeling diving boating and sightshyseeing are managed in this zone primarily through commercial tour guides Together the Sanctuaryrsquos Tortugas Ecological Reserve and the National Parkrsquos Research Natural Area fully protect near-shore to deep reef habitats of the Tortugas region and form the largest permashynent marine reserve in the United States

Overall the Sanctuary management regime uses an ecosystem-wide approach to comprehensively address the variety of impacts pressures and threats to Florida Keys marine ecosystems It is only through this inclusive approach that the comshyplex problems facing coral reefs can be adequately addressed

115115115115115115115115115115

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Figure 164 Mangrove prop roots serve as important nursery sites for certain fish species (Photo Matt Kendall)

Biscayne National Park encompasses 683 km2 of waters just south of Miami including the majority of Biscayne Bay and a substantial portion of the northern reef tract with 291 km2 of coral reefs The Park is renowned for its productive coastal bay nearshore and offshore habitats including islands mangrove shorelines seagrass beds hardbottom communities and coral reefs which provide important recreational opportunities and spectacushylar scenic areas The National Park Service is concerned about degradation of Park resources in the face of coastal development increases in the number of recreational boats visiting the Park and fishing pressure The Park is revising its General Management Plan to provide for management zones that would give greater protection to Park resources including Natural Resources Reserve areas where fish nurseries and spawning habitats would be protected from fishing and disturbance In addition the Park is developing a cooperative plan with the State of Florida to adopt a coordishynated and seamless approach to protecting and restoring fishery resources both within and outside Park boundaries

The Key West National Wildlife Refuge and the Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge overlap with portions of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in the backcountry of the lower Keys and an extensive area around the Marquesas Islands between Key West and the Dry Tortugas The Refuges established in 1908 and 1938 respecshytively contain over 1619 km2 (400000 acres) of lush seagrass beds reef tract patch reefs hard-bottom community and pristine mangrove islets A cooperative agreement with the State of Florida on the management of these submerged lands created

a number of wildlife management zones in the Refuges These zones direct human activities away from sensitive wildlife and habitats and help to ensure their continued conservation The US Fish and Wildlife Service as administrators of the National Wildlife Refuge System works cooperashytively with the State and the Sanctuary for the protection of these sites

Of the dozen or so State Parks in Southeast Florida two are considered marine One of the oldest marine parks in the world (acquisition began in 1959) the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is located in Monroe County on Key Largo It covers 249 km2 (61531 acres) and has 461 km2 of coral reefs seagrass beds and mangrove swamps Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park which includes Shell Key is located in Monroe County west of Islamorada The Parkrsquos submerged habitats are located in Florida Bay and the Atlantic Ocean and include fringing mangrove forest extensive seagrass beds patch reef and sand flats

Reefs off the southeastern coast and the banks of the Middle Grounds have some protection through various MPAs but neither region is as comprehenshysively protected tas the Florida Keys North of Vero Beach the Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) was established in 1984 and is currently under the management of NOAArsquos National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council The HAPC runs along the central Florida eastern coast from Ft Pierce to Cape Canaveral and protects deep-water pinnacles of ivory coral (Oculina spp) This habitat has been identified as easily impacted by fishing activities including destruction by dredges trawlers and long-line fishing gear

The Madison-Swanson and Steamboat Lumps Spawning Sites were established in June 2000 under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act and will be manshyaged by NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council These MPAs located offshyshore on the West Florida shelf were created to protect spawning aggregations of gag (Mycteroshyperca microlepis) as well as other reef and pelagic fish species from fishing activities Deepwater habitats are also protected from fishery-related impacts These areas are closed to all fishing for a period of four years in order to evaluate the effects of fishing on spawning aggregations

116116116116116116116116116116

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A

The Florida Middle Grounds HAPC was estabshylished in 1984 to protect this deeper coral habitat Located approximately 70 nautical miles to the northwest of Clearwater FL the HAPC prohibits the use of several types of commercial gear including fish traps to protect and maintain fish stocks The HAPC is under the management of NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Manageshyment Council

Gaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and Conservation CapacityCapacityCapacityCapacityCapacity

Current monitoring in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary has largely focused on detecting changes within the fully protected zones and determining Sanctuary-wide status and trends of water quality seagrasses and corals Some trends are beginning to show providing a source of hypotheses to be tested Continued monitoring is critical These data will facilitate detecting long-term changes in communities both locally and ecosystem-wide

Reef monitoring programs in southeastern Florida are limited by a near total lack of comprehensive inventories and assessments of marine communishyties in this area Baseline assessments with monishytoring programs at sites located off each of the counties in the region are needed The first step should be to develop a functional classification of the reef habitats For effective selection of monitorshying sites this classification should incorporate criteria to ensure that both representative habitats and unique sites receive attention

The databases of reef fish in Broward Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties are based on visual survey techniques that can overlook a substantial number of cryptic species (as many as 37 in a recent Caribbean survey Collette et al 2001) Thus intensive and broad-scale monitoring needs to be done to obtain a complete picture of the resident ichthyofauna In addition the fish below 30 m are poorly characterized and exploited by recreational fishers

Likewise the reef fish communities from seagrass and mangrove habitats of Port Everglades and the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) remain a mystery Given the high level of human activity in the area and since these are potentially important nursery sites (Leis 1991 Fig 164) there is need for immediate clarification

A formal monitoring program should also be instituted in the Florida Middle Grounds Ideally stations would be established based on the sites surveyed by Hopkins et al in 1977 The ability to compare the arearsquos current status with previous data would be helpful in detecting changes over time To that end video transects and methods comparable to the 1977 work should be employed

The reefs along the southeast coast and the Middle Grounds banks should be fully mapped The data should be consistent with state national and international programs and should be rapidly disseminated for public consumption A regional archive should be established

Government Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws and LegislationLegislationLegislationLegislationLegislation

When President George Bush signed the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act into law in 1990 the FKNMS became the first national marine sanctuary designated by Congress Its authority along with the 12 other national marine sanctuaries is established under the Nashytional Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) of 1972 16 USC 1431 et seq as amended The Sanctuary is administered by NOAA under the Department of Commerce and is managed jointly with the State of Florida under a co-trustee agreement because over half of the waters of the Sanctuary are state territorial waters The co-trustee agreement comshymits the Sanctuary to a periodic review of the management plan the first review will be in 2002

In 1997 a comprehensive management plan for the Sanctuary was implemented It contains ten action plans and associated strategies for conserving protecting and managing the significant natural and cultural resources of the Florida Keys marine environment

Largely non-regulatory the strategies educate citizens and visitors use volunteers to build stewardship for local marine resources appropriately mark channels and waterways install and maintain mooring buoys for vessel use survey submerged cultural resources and protect water quality As described previously the Sanctuary management plan also designated five types of marine zones to reduce pressures in heavily used areas protect critical habitats and species and separate use conflicts

117117117117117117117117117117

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A

A total of 24 fully protected zones were impleshymented in 1997 and 2001 covering approximately 6 of the Sanctuary but protect 65 of shallow bank reef habitats and about 10 of coral resourshyces Most of the smaller zones (sanctuary preservashytion areas) are located along the offshore reef tracts and encompass the most heavily used spur and groove coral formations In these areas all conshysumptive activities are prohibited The effectiveshyness of these zones and other biological and chemshyical parameters are monitored under the Research and Monitoring Action Plan of the Sanctuary

Commercial fishing remains one of the largest industries in the Florida Keys (Fig 165) but it is regulated heavily by State and Federal fishery management councils Regulations for most commercial invertebrates and finfish include annual catch quotas closed seasons gear catch size restrictions The State also collects landing inforshymation on approximately 400 kinds of fish inverteshybrates and plants to track trends in catch and to evaluate regulations (DoC 1996)

The reefs of southeastern Florida are in State territorial waters and protected from some impacts by State statutes and regulations These include

fishing regulations dredging permits and a statute protecting corals from harvest sale or destruction Broward County has a small boat mooring program intended to reduce anchoring impacts on reefs

Conclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and Recommendations

Overall immediate action is needed to curtail alarming declines in coral reef condition throughshyout Florida Local communities that are culturally and economically supported by coral reefs must employ management strategies and focus on alleviating controllable human impacts For example in southeastern Florida the environmenshytal impacts of fisheries dredging vessel anchorshyages freshwater management and nutrient input should receive attention to maximize protection to the reefs in this area In the Florida Keys solutions that address wastewater and stormwater problems habitat degradation and overfishing must be pursued

At the regional level elected officials and policy-makers should work to conserve and protect watersheds reduce emissions and decrease energy use Citizens elected officials and MPA managers must work together to improve water quality

minimize physical impacts to corals Figure 165 Both shrimp (A) and lobster (B) fisheries are important industries and seagrasses employ sustainablein South Florida (Photo Paige Gill FKNMS and NOAA)

fishing practices reduce pollution and save energy

Globally strict air pollution stanshydards must be adopted carbon dioxide emissions reduced and renewable energy technologies employed to curb global warming trends International policies on global climate change should be adopted and implemented Compreshyhensive coral reef protection will ultimately require both proactive local steps and engaging leaders regionally and globally on climate change issuesAAAAA BBBBB

118118118118118118118118118118

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A

Figure 164 Mangrove prop roots serve as important nursery sites for certain fish species (Photo Matt Kendall)

Biscayne National Park encompasses 683 km2 of waters just south of Miami including the majority of Biscayne Bay and a substantial portion of the northern reef tract with 291 km2 of coral reefs The Park is renowned for its productive coastal bay nearshore and offshore habitats including islands mangrove shorelines seagrass beds hardbottom communities and coral reefs which provide important recreational opportunities and spectacushylar scenic areas The National Park Service is concerned about degradation of Park resources in the face of coastal development increases in the number of recreational boats visiting the Park and fishing pressure The Park is revising its General Management Plan to provide for management zones that would give greater protection to Park resources including Natural Resources Reserve areas where fish nurseries and spawning habitats would be protected from fishing and disturbance In addition the Park is developing a cooperative plan with the State of Florida to adopt a coordishynated and seamless approach to protecting and restoring fishery resources both within and outside Park boundaries

The Key West National Wildlife Refuge and the Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge overlap with portions of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in the backcountry of the lower Keys and an extensive area around the Marquesas Islands between Key West and the Dry Tortugas The Refuges established in 1908 and 1938 respecshytively contain over 1619 km2 (400000 acres) of lush seagrass beds reef tract patch reefs hard-bottom community and pristine mangrove islets A cooperative agreement with the State of Florida on the management of these submerged lands created

a number of wildlife management zones in the Refuges These zones direct human activities away from sensitive wildlife and habitats and help to ensure their continued conservation The US Fish and Wildlife Service as administrators of the National Wildlife Refuge System works cooperashytively with the State and the Sanctuary for the protection of these sites

Of the dozen or so State Parks in Southeast Florida two are considered marine One of the oldest marine parks in the world (acquisition began in 1959) the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is located in Monroe County on Key Largo It covers 249 km2 (61531 acres) and has 461 km2 of coral reefs seagrass beds and mangrove swamps Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park which includes Shell Key is located in Monroe County west of Islamorada The Parkrsquos submerged habitats are located in Florida Bay and the Atlantic Ocean and include fringing mangrove forest extensive seagrass beds patch reef and sand flats

Reefs off the southeastern coast and the banks of the Middle Grounds have some protection through various MPAs but neither region is as comprehenshysively protected tas the Florida Keys North of Vero Beach the Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) was established in 1984 and is currently under the management of NOAArsquos National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council The HAPC runs along the central Florida eastern coast from Ft Pierce to Cape Canaveral and protects deep-water pinnacles of ivory coral (Oculina spp) This habitat has been identified as easily impacted by fishing activities including destruction by dredges trawlers and long-line fishing gear

The Madison-Swanson and Steamboat Lumps Spawning Sites were established in June 2000 under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act and will be manshyaged by NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council These MPAs located offshyshore on the West Florida shelf were created to protect spawning aggregations of gag (Mycteroshyperca microlepis) as well as other reef and pelagic fish species from fishing activities Deepwater habitats are also protected from fishery-related impacts These areas are closed to all fishing for a period of four years in order to evaluate the effects of fishing on spawning aggregations

116116116116116116116116116116

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RID

A

The Florida Middle Grounds HAPC was estabshylished in 1984 to protect this deeper coral habitat Located approximately 70 nautical miles to the northwest of Clearwater FL the HAPC prohibits the use of several types of commercial gear including fish traps to protect and maintain fish stocks The HAPC is under the management of NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Manageshyment Council

Gaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and Conservation CapacityCapacityCapacityCapacityCapacity

Current monitoring in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary has largely focused on detecting changes within the fully protected zones and determining Sanctuary-wide status and trends of water quality seagrasses and corals Some trends are beginning to show providing a source of hypotheses to be tested Continued monitoring is critical These data will facilitate detecting long-term changes in communities both locally and ecosystem-wide

Reef monitoring programs in southeastern Florida are limited by a near total lack of comprehensive inventories and assessments of marine communishyties in this area Baseline assessments with monishytoring programs at sites located off each of the counties in the region are needed The first step should be to develop a functional classification of the reef habitats For effective selection of monitorshying sites this classification should incorporate criteria to ensure that both representative habitats and unique sites receive attention

The databases of reef fish in Broward Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties are based on visual survey techniques that can overlook a substantial number of cryptic species (as many as 37 in a recent Caribbean survey Collette et al 2001) Thus intensive and broad-scale monitoring needs to be done to obtain a complete picture of the resident ichthyofauna In addition the fish below 30 m are poorly characterized and exploited by recreational fishers

Likewise the reef fish communities from seagrass and mangrove habitats of Port Everglades and the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) remain a mystery Given the high level of human activity in the area and since these are potentially important nursery sites (Leis 1991 Fig 164) there is need for immediate clarification

A formal monitoring program should also be instituted in the Florida Middle Grounds Ideally stations would be established based on the sites surveyed by Hopkins et al in 1977 The ability to compare the arearsquos current status with previous data would be helpful in detecting changes over time To that end video transects and methods comparable to the 1977 work should be employed

The reefs along the southeast coast and the Middle Grounds banks should be fully mapped The data should be consistent with state national and international programs and should be rapidly disseminated for public consumption A regional archive should be established

Government Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws and LegislationLegislationLegislationLegislationLegislation

When President George Bush signed the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act into law in 1990 the FKNMS became the first national marine sanctuary designated by Congress Its authority along with the 12 other national marine sanctuaries is established under the Nashytional Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) of 1972 16 USC 1431 et seq as amended The Sanctuary is administered by NOAA under the Department of Commerce and is managed jointly with the State of Florida under a co-trustee agreement because over half of the waters of the Sanctuary are state territorial waters The co-trustee agreement comshymits the Sanctuary to a periodic review of the management plan the first review will be in 2002

In 1997 a comprehensive management plan for the Sanctuary was implemented It contains ten action plans and associated strategies for conserving protecting and managing the significant natural and cultural resources of the Florida Keys marine environment

Largely non-regulatory the strategies educate citizens and visitors use volunteers to build stewardship for local marine resources appropriately mark channels and waterways install and maintain mooring buoys for vessel use survey submerged cultural resources and protect water quality As described previously the Sanctuary management plan also designated five types of marine zones to reduce pressures in heavily used areas protect critical habitats and species and separate use conflicts

117117117117117117117117117117

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A

A total of 24 fully protected zones were impleshymented in 1997 and 2001 covering approximately 6 of the Sanctuary but protect 65 of shallow bank reef habitats and about 10 of coral resourshyces Most of the smaller zones (sanctuary preservashytion areas) are located along the offshore reef tracts and encompass the most heavily used spur and groove coral formations In these areas all conshysumptive activities are prohibited The effectiveshyness of these zones and other biological and chemshyical parameters are monitored under the Research and Monitoring Action Plan of the Sanctuary

Commercial fishing remains one of the largest industries in the Florida Keys (Fig 165) but it is regulated heavily by State and Federal fishery management councils Regulations for most commercial invertebrates and finfish include annual catch quotas closed seasons gear catch size restrictions The State also collects landing inforshymation on approximately 400 kinds of fish inverteshybrates and plants to track trends in catch and to evaluate regulations (DoC 1996)

The reefs of southeastern Florida are in State territorial waters and protected from some impacts by State statutes and regulations These include

fishing regulations dredging permits and a statute protecting corals from harvest sale or destruction Broward County has a small boat mooring program intended to reduce anchoring impacts on reefs

Conclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and Recommendations

Overall immediate action is needed to curtail alarming declines in coral reef condition throughshyout Florida Local communities that are culturally and economically supported by coral reefs must employ management strategies and focus on alleviating controllable human impacts For example in southeastern Florida the environmenshytal impacts of fisheries dredging vessel anchorshyages freshwater management and nutrient input should receive attention to maximize protection to the reefs in this area In the Florida Keys solutions that address wastewater and stormwater problems habitat degradation and overfishing must be pursued

At the regional level elected officials and policy-makers should work to conserve and protect watersheds reduce emissions and decrease energy use Citizens elected officials and MPA managers must work together to improve water quality

minimize physical impacts to corals Figure 165 Both shrimp (A) and lobster (B) fisheries are important industries and seagrasses employ sustainablein South Florida (Photo Paige Gill FKNMS and NOAA)

fishing practices reduce pollution and save energy

Globally strict air pollution stanshydards must be adopted carbon dioxide emissions reduced and renewable energy technologies employed to curb global warming trends International policies on global climate change should be adopted and implemented Compreshyhensive coral reef protection will ultimately require both proactive local steps and engaging leaders regionally and globally on climate change issuesAAAAA BBBBB

118118118118118118118118118118

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A

The Florida Middle Grounds HAPC was estabshylished in 1984 to protect this deeper coral habitat Located approximately 70 nautical miles to the northwest of Clearwater FL the HAPC prohibits the use of several types of commercial gear including fish traps to protect and maintain fish stocks The HAPC is under the management of NMFS and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Manageshyment Council

Gaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and ConservationGaps in Monitoring and Conservation CapacityCapacityCapacityCapacityCapacity

Current monitoring in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary has largely focused on detecting changes within the fully protected zones and determining Sanctuary-wide status and trends of water quality seagrasses and corals Some trends are beginning to show providing a source of hypotheses to be tested Continued monitoring is critical These data will facilitate detecting long-term changes in communities both locally and ecosystem-wide

Reef monitoring programs in southeastern Florida are limited by a near total lack of comprehensive inventories and assessments of marine communishyties in this area Baseline assessments with monishytoring programs at sites located off each of the counties in the region are needed The first step should be to develop a functional classification of the reef habitats For effective selection of monitorshying sites this classification should incorporate criteria to ensure that both representative habitats and unique sites receive attention

The databases of reef fish in Broward Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties are based on visual survey techniques that can overlook a substantial number of cryptic species (as many as 37 in a recent Caribbean survey Collette et al 2001) Thus intensive and broad-scale monitoring needs to be done to obtain a complete picture of the resident ichthyofauna In addition the fish below 30 m are poorly characterized and exploited by recreational fishers

Likewise the reef fish communities from seagrass and mangrove habitats of Port Everglades and the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) remain a mystery Given the high level of human activity in the area and since these are potentially important nursery sites (Leis 1991 Fig 164) there is need for immediate clarification

A formal monitoring program should also be instituted in the Florida Middle Grounds Ideally stations would be established based on the sites surveyed by Hopkins et al in 1977 The ability to compare the arearsquos current status with previous data would be helpful in detecting changes over time To that end video transects and methods comparable to the 1977 work should be employed

The reefs along the southeast coast and the Middle Grounds banks should be fully mapped The data should be consistent with state national and international programs and should be rapidly disseminated for public consumption A regional archive should be established

Government Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws andGovernment Policies Laws and LegislationLegislationLegislationLegislationLegislation

When President George Bush signed the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act into law in 1990 the FKNMS became the first national marine sanctuary designated by Congress Its authority along with the 12 other national marine sanctuaries is established under the Nashytional Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) of 1972 16 USC 1431 et seq as amended The Sanctuary is administered by NOAA under the Department of Commerce and is managed jointly with the State of Florida under a co-trustee agreement because over half of the waters of the Sanctuary are state territorial waters The co-trustee agreement comshymits the Sanctuary to a periodic review of the management plan the first review will be in 2002

In 1997 a comprehensive management plan for the Sanctuary was implemented It contains ten action plans and associated strategies for conserving protecting and managing the significant natural and cultural resources of the Florida Keys marine environment

Largely non-regulatory the strategies educate citizens and visitors use volunteers to build stewardship for local marine resources appropriately mark channels and waterways install and maintain mooring buoys for vessel use survey submerged cultural resources and protect water quality As described previously the Sanctuary management plan also designated five types of marine zones to reduce pressures in heavily used areas protect critical habitats and species and separate use conflicts

117117117117117117117117117117

FLO

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A

A total of 24 fully protected zones were impleshymented in 1997 and 2001 covering approximately 6 of the Sanctuary but protect 65 of shallow bank reef habitats and about 10 of coral resourshyces Most of the smaller zones (sanctuary preservashytion areas) are located along the offshore reef tracts and encompass the most heavily used spur and groove coral formations In these areas all conshysumptive activities are prohibited The effectiveshyness of these zones and other biological and chemshyical parameters are monitored under the Research and Monitoring Action Plan of the Sanctuary

Commercial fishing remains one of the largest industries in the Florida Keys (Fig 165) but it is regulated heavily by State and Federal fishery management councils Regulations for most commercial invertebrates and finfish include annual catch quotas closed seasons gear catch size restrictions The State also collects landing inforshymation on approximately 400 kinds of fish inverteshybrates and plants to track trends in catch and to evaluate regulations (DoC 1996)

The reefs of southeastern Florida are in State territorial waters and protected from some impacts by State statutes and regulations These include

fishing regulations dredging permits and a statute protecting corals from harvest sale or destruction Broward County has a small boat mooring program intended to reduce anchoring impacts on reefs

Conclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and Recommendations

Overall immediate action is needed to curtail alarming declines in coral reef condition throughshyout Florida Local communities that are culturally and economically supported by coral reefs must employ management strategies and focus on alleviating controllable human impacts For example in southeastern Florida the environmenshytal impacts of fisheries dredging vessel anchorshyages freshwater management and nutrient input should receive attention to maximize protection to the reefs in this area In the Florida Keys solutions that address wastewater and stormwater problems habitat degradation and overfishing must be pursued

At the regional level elected officials and policy-makers should work to conserve and protect watersheds reduce emissions and decrease energy use Citizens elected officials and MPA managers must work together to improve water quality

minimize physical impacts to corals Figure 165 Both shrimp (A) and lobster (B) fisheries are important industries and seagrasses employ sustainablein South Florida (Photo Paige Gill FKNMS and NOAA)

fishing practices reduce pollution and save energy

Globally strict air pollution stanshydards must be adopted carbon dioxide emissions reduced and renewable energy technologies employed to curb global warming trends International policies on global climate change should be adopted and implemented Compreshyhensive coral reef protection will ultimately require both proactive local steps and engaging leaders regionally and globally on climate change issuesAAAAA BBBBB

118118118118118118118118118118

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A total of 24 fully protected zones were impleshymented in 1997 and 2001 covering approximately 6 of the Sanctuary but protect 65 of shallow bank reef habitats and about 10 of coral resourshyces Most of the smaller zones (sanctuary preservashytion areas) are located along the offshore reef tracts and encompass the most heavily used spur and groove coral formations In these areas all conshysumptive activities are prohibited The effectiveshyness of these zones and other biological and chemshyical parameters are monitored under the Research and Monitoring Action Plan of the Sanctuary

Commercial fishing remains one of the largest industries in the Florida Keys (Fig 165) but it is regulated heavily by State and Federal fishery management councils Regulations for most commercial invertebrates and finfish include annual catch quotas closed seasons gear catch size restrictions The State also collects landing inforshymation on approximately 400 kinds of fish inverteshybrates and plants to track trends in catch and to evaluate regulations (DoC 1996)

The reefs of southeastern Florida are in State territorial waters and protected from some impacts by State statutes and regulations These include

fishing regulations dredging permits and a statute protecting corals from harvest sale or destruction Broward County has a small boat mooring program intended to reduce anchoring impacts on reefs

Conclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and RecommendationsConclusions and Recommendations

Overall immediate action is needed to curtail alarming declines in coral reef condition throughshyout Florida Local communities that are culturally and economically supported by coral reefs must employ management strategies and focus on alleviating controllable human impacts For example in southeastern Florida the environmenshytal impacts of fisheries dredging vessel anchorshyages freshwater management and nutrient input should receive attention to maximize protection to the reefs in this area In the Florida Keys solutions that address wastewater and stormwater problems habitat degradation and overfishing must be pursued

At the regional level elected officials and policy-makers should work to conserve and protect watersheds reduce emissions and decrease energy use Citizens elected officials and MPA managers must work together to improve water quality

minimize physical impacts to corals Figure 165 Both shrimp (A) and lobster (B) fisheries are important industries and seagrasses employ sustainablein South Florida (Photo Paige Gill FKNMS and NOAA)

fishing practices reduce pollution and save energy

Globally strict air pollution stanshydards must be adopted carbon dioxide emissions reduced and renewable energy technologies employed to curb global warming trends International policies on global climate change should be adopted and implemented Compreshyhensive coral reef protection will ultimately require both proactive local steps and engaging leaders regionally and globally on climate change issuesAAAAA BBBBB

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